Golden Mirage
by Posh-Kit
Summary: Upon stumbling on a dreamlike phenomenon, Rosette believes it is just another one of her bizarre imaginations. That is, until her life becomes intertwined in the unknown legend of a near century old feud.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Hi guys! This is the first time ever typing out any possible imagination that has wormed its way inside my head. Originally, this story was about…well, you don't need to know about that laughs nervously. Also, this started out as its own story and my whole thinking process went haywire because it was motivation off of CC fics but the character personalities just didn't fit. Besides, it was a made up story and characters making it "illegal" to post it onto because its just not a FANfic. Even though I prefer the original story and names, I decided to replace them with none other than the artistically beautiful people of CC! XD I mean…who wants to post a capable story on fictionpress when you're a total fan of something you based it off of. So after rewriting my a/n a billion times, I've decided to alter all the names and shoot out some personality and original appearances since it just won't work. I hope you guys enjoy and if you don't like my horribly long ramblings, please ignore all future notes.

**P.S.** - any person or event that seems familiar is purely coincidental, unless you've been stalking me ¬.¬

another **Note: **um, just a reminder, the characters may not be the same as how you liked them in the original series. Like I said, they were extremely distorted and altered to begin with.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Chrno Crusade or its characters, or anything else mentioned that belongs to someone else….or whatever I hope I didn't write illegally ;;.

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**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 1:** Prologue

The room was dimly lit by melting candles as countless sheets littered the floor. Situated in the middle of the room was an enormous silk-laden bed. On it laid a scantily dressed young blond woman with a man in strange clothing. Deep violet strands of hair fell over his blood red eyes as he shifted his body over hers. The bed creaked, followed by a lustful giggle.

"Chrono..." gasped the woman as he slid his hand up the right side of her face and brushed a strange hook mark under her azure eye. She reached up and cupped his face. Her sapphire embedded ring glinted for a moment before she pulled him in to steal his breath. A moment before their lips touched, the grandfather clock on the wall behind them rang out a tinkling sound signaling the five second countdown before midnight. The woman began to shudder. (Ding) 5….

(Ding) 4…

(Ding) 3…

She smiled lovingly up at him.

(Ding) 2…

(Ding) 1…

Suddenly, the man's face broke into a malicious grin.

DONG!

The windows snapped open, drapes fluttering in the moonlight breeze. A flash of gold slipped through the barely open door as the candles blew out. Another breeze flowed around the room before the door clicked shut. In response to the bolt slipping in place, the woman's arm fell limply to the side of the bed, drawing a line of dark liquid down her pale blue skin.

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"AHHH! IM LATE IM LATE!" a girl screamed in agony after glancing at her alarm clock. Springing up from her comfy bed covers she whipped into her walk-in closet. Her blonde hair flew violently right when the sun rose over the horizon, its rays shining through her mussed strands. For a moment, the strands seemed to light up, creating a wannabe super saiyan effect. Throwing on anything that would cover her decently, the girl ran to the bathroom in time to hear her brother, Joshua, screech out.

"Rosette! Get up now! Are you up yet!"

Damn brother. Talking in his sleep again huh? '_Maybe I should let him be late today'_. Smiling evilly to herself, she replied, "I'm up already." Sighing as she brushed her teeth, she mumbled on, "Get your ass up or your in for it punk."

'_Hm…that's strange_,' she thought, '_Since when did I start dreaming again_?' Staring at her reflection, she vaguely remembered a man and woman, and…

"MUAHAHA!" Joshua sped down the stairs and skidded in the hallway. "Somebody's a slooooowpoke!" His laugh faded away as he ran further from the staircase. Rosette jerked out of her thoughts and looked up at the conveniently built-in clock on her mirror and violently spat out the toothpaste. Jeez, she was so late this time! Looked like she'd have to endure another day with her hair untamed.

HONK!

Oh no…not again. Rosette grabbed her backpack and tumbled down the stairs. Cursing loudly, she bolted for the door only to see Joshua speeding away, cackling maniacally.

_'Agh fudge! Why does he always do this!'_ she thought retchedly.

HONK!

"Just kiddin' sis," Joshua smirked through the open window, "Get in."

Eyes beaming dangerously, Rosette lunged at the open door and kicked her brother to the passenger seat.

"YOU get out!" She punched him into his seat leaving him cowering. "Who said you could drive anyways!"

"Well it's not like I drive any worse than yo-"

"WHO!" She shot him a death glare and jabbed her foot on the gas pedal.

"Slow down!" he cried.

"I told you, we're LATE!"

"I'd rather live!"

"Too bad sucker." Rosette stuck out her infamous tongue at her cute little brother's teary face as she swerved around some snail old lady.

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Lightly closing her edition of the math book shut, the teacher announced, "Alright class, that's enough today, you may start on today's homework. If you need help, I'll be walking around." Putting their notes, drawings, cell phones, and anything else they were doing during lecture, the students pulled out their math books and began scribbling numbers and chatting with each other. However, unlike the rest of the class, someone wasn't working or talking to others, or even alive for that fact. Noticing this, the teacher irritatedly walked over and slammed her hand down on the girl's desk

"Rosette!" the lanky woman barked. Groaning, the girl rolled up her head and squinted at the teacher.

"Can I…get some roast beef?" Rosette mumbled. Being breakfast-less and broke during lunch did not help. The woman shot her a venomous look. A moment passed before her eyes shot open.

"I-I'm sorry Ms. Valentine!" she screeched, pricking up her back like a perked bunny. Up until this point, the whole class whom were staring at this daily event, roared with laughter.

"Everyone get back to work," Ms. Valentine ordered before eyeing Rosette "And as for YOU Ms. Christopher, you'll be roast beef if you continue this habit of yours. This is your LAST warning. And I mean it. Or else."

"Yes, I understand…" She looked down sheepishly, stomach growling. Peeking out from the corner of her eye at the class, she thought, '_They'll pay one day.."_ Apparently, this was also a disruption in all of her classes. They were just so darn boring. '_Oh great, now I have to deal with wannabe Derek next period'_, she complained as the bell rang. Her next class was absolutely easy. Chemistry. "Chem-is-try," as her French teacher had always said. '_Hah, as if. I'll still pass even if I try or not. First, however, it's time for lunch'_, she walked out smiling.

She walked across the bridge between her campuses with her head bowed. School was so boring. She never got along well with anyone. Seriously, why were all the girls so...girly! Couldn't any of them walk a day without high heels or cosmetics in hand? As for her, she thought anything was fine as long as it was comfortable. All the boys at this school had such low standards. Only going for slutty, brand named chicks which was basically the whole female population except for her. Then again, it was nice to dress up from time to time. Agh, she was thinking that way again. Rosette sighed at the thought as the lunch bell rang and walked onward towards her last class. Yet again, she snuggled her face into her arms and went on snoozing.

Then strode in a tall skinny boy laughing out loud, "Hahaha did you see that kid! Man what a sucker."

"Dude, Derek, you totally smoked him."

"Well duh. I'm not some whiny little fob." Rosette glared at him while the guys laughed. "YOU'RE the whiny little fob you bastard", she silently mumbled, pulling out of her sleep.

"Say something drool face?"

"…."

"Yea I thought so…FREAK!", he laughed at his not-so-funny joke. She groaned as he sat down. The late bell rang, signaling the beginning of the 45 minute torture of hearing his constant gibberish about just how cool and smart he was.

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After her brother's constant nagging for her to shower so he would have hot water later, Rosette grabbed her pjs and headed for the bathroom.

"Jeez, I never get a night without him nagging like a broken record", she fumed. Suddenly, her bladder jerked. She sighed, "At least I can finally have peace." Setting her clothes down, she turned around and lifted the toilet lid. At that moment, all her thoughts stopped running and her face paled.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Downstairs, a crash could be heard. She gasped for air staring at her toilet, frightened at the shiny coils in the bowl. Joshua rushed up the stairs, yellow gloves on hand with a dripping plate in the other.

"WHAT HAPPENED!"

For some odd reason, Rosette quickly closed the lid and flushed the toilet as he ran in.

"A-ah….it was nothing. Just a reeeeaaaally big spider!" she lied. Her eyes were bugging out like she had really seen an ultra big spider.

"That's it? THAT'S IT..!" he gaped.

"Er, haha yea." She looked apologetic.

"What the heck! I just broke my favorite coffee mug just for that? Jeez!" he moaned before looking up again. "So where is it?"

"Um, I flushed it." She clutched her hair and held her face in mock humor.

"Oh really now.." he teased sarcastically. "Maybe it'll come back to life and," Joshua reached out and attacked his sister with a wave of tickles, "BITE YOU!" he suddenly pinched in her sides as she hit the edge of the table and fell in breathless laughter.

"Ok ok I'm sorry Joshy. I'll get'cha an even better mug k?"

"You better" he pouted.

"Nosey promise then." Rosette held his shoulders and touched her forehead and nose. She breathed for a moment before letting go. "Now….

..get out."

Joshua scuttled away before any harm could be done. Turning back to the toilet, Rosette grabbed a measuring stick and slowly shoved it under the lid. Lifting it shakily, she gasped again at the sight of the most beautiful snake she had ever seen. It was pure black obsidian with violent splashes of gold all over its body. It slowly slid from the bowl and onto the tile flooring. She stared wide eyed at it, questions racing through her head. How did it get here? Why is it here? What do I do with it? Her eyes swirled until it slithered to her foot and looked up at her.

Something in her gut told her it wasn't dangerous. Now that she thought about it, it was the same feeling when she lied to her brother about it. As if an invisible force was pulling her towards the serpent, she unconsciously reached down and tapped its nose. Its amber eyes flashed quickly, unnoticed.

'_Hmm...doesn't look dangerous.._' She frowned, looked around and inspected the tail. '_Looks longer than it should be. Probably male?_' After a minute of thinking, Rosette smiled lovingly at her new pet.

Seeing that only she and Joshua lived in this house, it wouldn't be a problem. Standing up again, she shut the door and stripped herself before hopping into her tub. To the snake's dismay, she grabbed him and set him in the tub too.

'_If he can swim in the sewers, he'll definitely live through this._' She thought. "Whew you're such a stink bomb."

Rosette reached over and plugged the bathtub before turning on the water. She hadn't had a bath not shower in ages. It was something to really look forward to today since tomorrow was Saturday. After a few minutes, she turned off the water and slid under the surface of bubbles when a slippery body swam past over her leg and tried to escape the tub. Staring wickedly at him, she grabbed his tail and dragged him back in.

"Oh no you don't you poop roll. I'm not letting you wander after you touched MY toilet water." She grinned widely before dipping the poor thing under the water and scrubbing him until his gold spots could reflect her image. The creature all the while tried to escape from her grasp but she held tight enough to keep him in check. Finally, he reared back and bared his fangs.

"Don't even think about it." She reflexively shot her hand out of the water and snapped his mouth shut and held it there. The unfortunate thing continued squirming until it gave up. Sensing defeat, Rosette let him go in the water and busied herself with her hair. While thinking about what she would do this weekend, she reached out and petted the snake's scales before he twirled around her arm and stared her out of her thoughts. She stared back unable to break the gaze. The longer she stared, the more his eyes seemed to glow brighter.

"What?" she asked faintly. Finally snapping her eyes off of his beautiful eyes, Rosette turned around to grab the shampoo bottle. Hearing a low hiss, she whipped around in case he was rearing up again but saw him lying comfortably on her knee. She smiled and decided to share a part of her life with him.

"Hm, I'm Rosette Christopher by the way. Nice to mee-"

Her face blanked. Her sight became fuzzy. Dropping her gaze, she saw red pooling out from the right side of her front. The snake tightened his jaws on her neck before she slumped to the side. Her body then slowly slid under the surface of tainted bubbles.

**-End Prologue-**

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**A/N:** WOO finally done with the prologue. :D One thing I have to say about dialogue…….quotation marks are a PAIN in the bum! No wonder I failed language arts and my essays were crap. Ah shoot, I just scrolled up and now it looks horribly short. Please take it easy on me. I'm seriously a first timer at this and I've never actually expressed my zany brain generated fantasies before. (rambles on) ;-; sorry, I just had to get this story out of my head before I spent excess countless hours thinking about it in the shower. Anyways, please R+R. I would love to see if my friends lied to me about my stories. Oh yea, since I've been super drained already from school, hope that I get enough willpower to actually type out the first chapter. Well, that's if people actually read this. I mean if you're reading this line right now, I'm sure you read it right? right!

**Question:** Ah, sorry I talk too much! Anyways, I've been wondering. What does OOC, AU, or those other abbreviations people use mean? shows just how new I am to this

ALSO, just as a mental note for you guys, earlier I read about an abandoned snake that ran away into the sewage system. Apparently this snake would pop its head out of random people's toilets from time to time and it was considered common. Freaky huh? Imagine trying to take a dump…


	2. Memory Excursion

**A/N:** Guess who's back…back again…Yvy's back…TELL A FRIEND ) hehe, bonjour monsieurs y mademoiselles. I'm being a bad girl again. I still have an essay that I'm supposed to handwrite (in cursive! How horrible) as well as notes and chemistry homework. Omg, its 1:30 am. Curse 0 period. So…I have a good idea where this story is going, but I don't know how to get there. Lovely, yes? Ok, in case you guys don't understand about the personalities or roles of the characters so far.

**Rosette:** Currently introverted except with her friends and brother. I know you guys won't like how she is in the beginning because I sure don't.

**Joshua:** A tease but very understanding. Will be later mentioned as a named hawttii :3

**Others:** You'll find out soon. And also, as a note for the prologue, Chrono is not some kind of vampire or something. However, I did decide to retain the fact that he is a demon (cheers people!) and yes, he did kill people.

Anyways, I would just like to TRY and keep this note as short as possible so on to the story my little impatient dolls :D

**P.S. –** Since it's my first story ever, I don't want you guys to know just how many times I've visited my stat page upon releasing the story. Seeing another hit add when I refresh makes me so happy to know you even clicked on it! I'm very easy to please if you can't tell. So if you review, you can be sure I'll have fainted and be knocked out for a good few hours. Again, ty for reading you guys (heart)

**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned such good looking sweet made-up people with big glassy eyes (-swoons-), but sadly all of us fans don't. Unless you're a fan of your own works, then that's another matter.

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**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 2:** Memory Excursion

She was whisked through school past her friends. Wind rushed past her ears and she found herself in front of her house. Then her body flowed soundlessly over to the beach. The air was full of sweet smelling salt. Looking to her side, the sunset shone like a bright golden orb as it slowly dipped lower into the horizon. Gradually, the sun's brightness faded and its rays were replaced by a red tint. Suddenly, darkness washed over the whole scenery.

Where was she? She stood on vast emptiness with no sound and no sight. All around her was just pitch black. Taking a step forward, she heard taps. The taps became louder with each step. Her eyes blurred when she caught sight of something walking towards her.

'_A man_,' she noted to herself. She felt herself turn around and begin to run. Her thoughts swirled through her head when someone screamed in her ear.

'_Go away_!'

Now truly scared, she started to pick up her pace to a sprint. Why was it black all over? Running seemed like an eternity until she realized just how slow she was actually moving. Halting to a stop, she turned around only to be caught by a shadow.

'_A shadow within a shadow..?_' she questioned calmly. Was that even possible? Before she realized what the hovering darkness was, she began to fall backward and hit even more black ground. Panicking, she got up only to be pushed back down again. This time, the shadow slowly covered her warmly. Relaxing, she let herself go, releasing all tension. At that moment, as if sensing weakness, its surface hardened and began to choke her. She fell onto her side and tried to wriggle free. Even though it didn't hurt, it was still mentally squeezing her. Squeezing her eyes shut, an abrupt thought malevolently hit her mind.

'_Don't you dare touch me vermin! Get your filthy hands off me or die,_' she heard herself think. Not even knowing where that order came from, the "thing" blew up into flames and quickly flew off her body at once, allowing her to breathe. Turning to the strange pile of flames on the ground, she walked towards it and reached out to touch it. Flinching back, it began to screech. The pain-filled shriek sounded like someone had been overly tortured as it began to sob uncontrollably. She couldn't take it anymore. Trying to shut out the noise, she clapped her hands over her ears.

'_Stop…it…,_' she began to tear up, '_Stop it..!_'

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"STOP IT!"

Rosette found herself sprawled on the ground next to her bed crying out in cold sweat. Breathing heavily, she brought her hand to her face thinking about what had just happened. Suddenly realizing where she was, she sat up quickly only to be shot down by a splitting headache. Seemed like laying down eased some of the pain in her head.

'_Great. Just great_,' she groaned,'_what a wonderful way to start off a weekend_.'

Not wanting to deal with this ridiculous crap, she was about to get up and get Advil but stopped short halfway. She stared down at her clothes. Pjs…she thought. She was in her pajamas. She didn't ever remember putting them on, or even leaving the bathroom for that fact. So how did she get out? Another blood vessel in her head throbbed, causing her head to spin. Cursing loudly, she scrambled around banging her head on the ground in frustration.

Ugh, damn it. First she gets freaky dreams with things spontaneously combusting and now a headache invades her head and interrupts her failed attempt at recovering. Oh this was lovely, she thought as her stomach growled. Looking up at the huge clock plastered on her ceiling (for a good reason), she sighed. It was only 10:20. Maybe she should just bunk out 2 more hours of sleep. But who the heck wants to dream that weird stuff again?

As if answering her stomach's prayer, Joshua tapped her door and opened it without her consent. He was wearing an apron and carrying a steaming bowl of beef stew with a cup of orange juice. Placing the cup down, he leaned on one leg and casually smirked at his sister.

"Enjoy getting raped in your dreams?"

Grabbing the nearest object she chucked it at his face. He dodged it and chuckled.

"Woah there. Wouldn't want beef stew de la carpet now would you?"

Rosette managed to get up and sauntered over to her brother. She stared hard into his sky blue eyes.

"You…why am I on the floor?" He looked at her oddly.

"Ask yourself. I wouldn't even dare getting within 5 meters of where you're sleep anyways." He stared back into her eyes seriously. "Have you seen that 180 degree kick of yours?"

Silence passed over them before she registered what he had just said. Whacking him over the head, she snatched the bowl of stew away from him and began spooning it down her throat as fast as she could.

"Oh man," he teased, "last time you did that, I thought I was gonna die for sure." Rosette bent over the bowl and began twitching. Glancing over at her from the corner of his eye, he continued.

"And to make it worse, you even rolled onto me. Oh my gawd were you HEAVY." He touched his lips with his finger and made a face as if in remembrance. By now, Rosette had wolfed down her food and begun eating the utensils.

"Then you did a karate kick to my poor jewels. I swear Rosette, you need to stop getting all these rape dreams," he scolded her lightly, laughter dancing in his eyes. "I mean are you THAT paranoid? Never knew you thought so highly of yourself."

The spoon Rosette was devouring broke halfway in her mouth. Winding her arm back with the handle, she spun around and released her wrath on the unfortunate boy. Joshua had his face frozen with a wide grin as the spoon struck him squarely in the middle of his forehead. He fell over and hit the ground. Advancing on him slowly, she was about to deliver a personal noogie attack and a lovely wedgie. He didn't move when she took a step towards him.

Realizing what she had just done, Rosette snapped out of her rage mode and fell to her brother's side.

"..Joshua?" She shook him. Fearing that she had somehow managed to break his skull and damaged his brain, she began to panic. He was utterly lifeless. Her eyes widened in shock. She leaned in and listened for his heartbeat. Nothing. No, this couldn't be happening.

"I'm sorry Joshua! I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry. Don't die on me!" She couldn't lose him now. He was the only family she had left since their parents died. "Please be alive-!" She bent over his chest and began crying. It was over. It was all her fault. It was all because of-

Joshua's chest began trembling. Rosette opened her eyes in shock and looked under her. His heaving chest was definitely not from her hysterical bawling. Suspicious, she looked at his face. His eyes were closed but his mouth…that cursed mouth of his was set in an ear to ear grin. Irritated, she quickly rolled him over before he could respond and yanked on his boxers…hard.

"Owowowow!"

Justice was nice, but revenge was sweeter…

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Leaning her chin on her hand, Rosette stared out the window at the passing cars. Today was such a nice day, not including the screwed up fiasco that morning. She pulled down the window and took a deep breath. Upon releasing it, Joshua glanced at her before turning his eyes back on the road.

"Rosette, you're supposed to watch me drive."

"You already know how to drive. It's fine." Her mind was wandering elsewhere. He frowned at her.

"What's up?"

"What?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You sighing that much means there's something up in that thick skull of yours." He inched away waiting for her assault but it never came.

She looked over at him. Then her mind snapped back to reality and she punched him. An old woman flipped them off as Joshua swerved into her lane.

"What do you want punk?" Rosette grinned roughly at him.

"Ooh, back to normal already? I was hoping Ms. Nice Rosette would stay longer." She smacked him again earning him another angry remark from passersby.

"And what makes you think I'm not normal!" He laughed at her.

"Ohh nothing." He turned on the radio. It was then silent aside from the music. Joshua turned up the volume when the light turned green. "By the way, you need friends, loner"

Whack.

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"Thanks Joshy! I'll call you when I'm ready to go home." She waved cheerily to her brother before turning to her friends. "So, where to?"

Mary, her blond friend stared at the car as it drove off.

"Rosette, you didn't abuse him again did you?"

"Of course not," she smiled.

Anna, a pretty redhead, turned around and said, "Claire will be here in a few minutes. Also…"

"Prom is only 2 months away!" squealed Mary. Rosette sighed. Not this again.

"Aww come on Rosette, you've been dateless since…forever! You NEED to go to this one," Anna egged.

"Nuh uh. Absolutely not. I flatly refuse thank you very much," she huffed, "Besides, you guys should worry about your own dates hm?"

As if they hadn't thought about it, her friends looked into space daydreaming about their next new hottie. Right then, Claire pulled up got out of the car. The seatbelt released her stream of brown locks causing passing guys to gape at her. Mary pouted.

"Beautiful as usual Claire."

Anna nodded in agreement and complimented her on the new skirt. On the other hand Rosette twisted her face at her.

"What'd you dress up so nicely for? Got a date?"

Claire only smiled brilliantly, revealing a row of shining white teeth. "Of course not. There's nothing wrong with looking nice is there?" Rosette could only stare back.

"We're watching a movie Claire, in the dark, where no one can see, or even tell what gender you are." Claire only cast her an obviously fake grin.

"Oh well then," she replied lightly. The other 2 girls looked nervously between them.

"Uh…we should go in now. The movie starts in a few minutes," Anna said anxiously.

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Rosette stretched her arms and yawned as the girls walked outside.

"That was so cute! I love the lead guy. He was so adorable," Mary squealed.

"And talk about a spicy body. Did you see how chiseled he was!" Anna gushed back.

"He was handsome indeed," Claire smiled.

"I thought he was gay."

"…" They stared at Rosette.

"Hey, I'd rather spend my time eating heartily good food than waste my time on some wannabe model somewhere across the country," she stated bluntly.

Anna grabbed her. "You can't be serious! What about that Derek guy you're always complaining about. You actually LIKE him don't you?"

Mary gasped. "What? What! I never heard about this. Who is he? Is he cute? Tell us!"

Rosette swept away from Anna's gripping fingers and sighed at them.

"Look. I don't like boys ok?" She looked around at their shocked faces. "Er…that doesn't mean I like girls either!" she snapped. Mary put on her puppy dog face.

"You…don't like us either..?"

Rosette smacked her own forehead and mumbled something about suicide. What's with people twisting her words around these days? "Let's just go already. I'm dead hungry," she perked up. Since everyone had been dropped off but Claire, they all clambered into her car and drove off to the nearest restaurant. (**a/n:** sorry guys..it's dead late and I'm too lazy/tired to go into detail.)

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Picking up her cell, Rosette called home and told Joshua that she and the girls decided to have a sleepover at Claire's.

"Good ridda-"

"What did you say!"

"Nothing nothing. Have fun sis."

"Yea yea, thanks for 'nothing'." She hung up and laid back into the car seat. Anna looked over.

"Tired?"

"Hehe yea."

"Don't fall asleep first. Remember: First one to sleep becomes the wolf's sheep." Mary grinned. Oh jeez, Rosette thought. She already had enough to think about, but now her friends were making her a very easy target. Wait. What was she even thinking about? Why was she even worrying in the first place? It was a Saturday night and she should be enjoying it. This morning, what the heck happened? Every time she tried to remember what happened, it would wash away from her mind and hide itself in the back of her brain. Something was missing. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Take another deep breathe, she thought. It'll come back to her soon, hopefully. Suddenly it hit her. Her eyes flew open and she yelled at Claire.

"STOP THE CAR!"

All the girls, taken by surprised, became frantic and started screaming while Claire swerved off the road killing her brakes all the while.

"What the heck happened!" they all screamed at her in unison.

"Claire, take me home NOW!"

"Wait what? Why?"

"Just do it! Joshua's in danger!" Claire obeyed and revved up the car and sped back onto the street towards home.

How could she have forgotten? She knew something was wrong. Why hadn't she noticed earlier?

The snake…was gone.

**-End Chapter 2-**

**A/N:** Dun dun dunnnnn. Sorry guys! I'm a dramatic cliffy writer if you guys thought it was somewhat dramatic at all. Also, I would like to mention a few more things. I don't like Claire. I really don't. She's too calm and pokerfaced it scares me. But I love Anna :D. Ok…I hope I have forgotten anything. Feel like I'm forgetting to tell you guys something. Ah curse my memory spurts (-rubs temples-). OH I remember now. I'm sorry for the boring chapters but I really need to get them in so you guys can understand or something like that. As for Chrono, sorry for his missing appearance so far. He WILL be intro-ed next chp. I promise (for all you ladies who love him :D) Hm...I'm still forgetting something. Thinking. It's 4:30 am and I'm dead hungry. Gosh I really can't think.

AH I remember again! Ok ok, about the way I write. I kind of add in lots of context clues of foreshadowing but like most people, you probably won't realize it until you've finished reading the whole story and you reread the whole thing over again. Thank god. I almost forgot how I got the name for this story. Next chp should be out this weekend (if I feel like it) or sometimes next week. THANK YOU for reading and please R+R. Not only does it make authoresses feel loved, but the fluttery feeling in my tummy feels good too. Shall we keep it that way:)


	3. Transfer Students

**A/N:** Hi again! Just wanted to let you guys know that I redid the summary because my first one sounded plain retarded and it was NOT the main point of the story. That's probably what caused so much confusion since people thought the snake was the main attraction. Well in a way it is, but the fact that it's in that form makes its quite insignificant. It was just used as a bridge to the main plotline and why things happen to Rosette. Hope that's cleared up now. :) Anyways, I can't reply to any of the reviews currently because ff/net is "currently experiencing heavier than expected traffic and are unable to fulfill (my) request at this time." So I'll just reply here. Darn site.

**MisoGirl:** Why didn't it flush away in the first chapter? Well at first I thought about that too, but if you really think about it, haven't you ever taken a huge dump that was so coiled it wouldn't flush? XD That sounds pretty gross but any human poop can travel down those pipes but if it's coiled, it's gonna jam. Same with the snake. It has the capabilities to fit in the pipes but what's the chance of sucking it down if one of its ends aren't even in the hole to begin with.

**Other reviews:** I've already replied to most of them but I can't seem to stress enough that Chrono is NOT a vampire. Thanks to info from snekochan, I found out he became a vampire in Rosette's dream or something. I would just like to let you guys know that I have never read the manga, only seen the anime. I'm also sorry if the first few chapters are very very very confusing because I intended for them to be. It's like other series where you see flashbacks but later the flashbacks are replayed with altered reasons which screws up what you've believed until then. (ie. A man kills a woman he supposedly really hated when the real truth is that he was set up into killing her, whom he actually loved) Capeesh?

And now to the long awaited (I wish!) chapter…

**Disclaimer: **If I was bright enough to think of such a brilliant idea, I wouldn't have failed language arts so many times.

------------------------------

**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 3:** Transfer Students

Claire slammed on the breaks as the car skidded to a stop in front of the house. Throwing the car door open, Rosette raced to the front door and tried to jam her keys into the hole. But due to her tremendous fear for her brother, she kept missing it. She was sweating badly. Joshua knew nothing about the snake and she wasn't sure if it would attack him at any moment. Finally, through all the annoyance, she managed to shove the key in and twisted it sharply. She thrust the door open and ran to upstairs shouting Joshua's name. No answer. Panicking even more, she kicked her bathroom door open.

The instant it flew open and her tub was in sight, memories from the night of the attack flooded her mind. Her knees buckled and she grabbed the door frame for support. Breathing roughly, she forced herself to crawl towards the tub. She reached up and swept the curtains aside. Only the gleam of white smiled back at her as she slumped against the side of the tub. After a few minutes, she regained her energy and stood up. She looked at her toilet before flipping it open and found it empty too.

She had checked all the rooms with no sign of Joshua. Frustrated, she pulled out her cell and held down his speed call number. She tapped her foot impatiently while listening to the slow trill in her ear. Come on, she whined, pick up the phone. His voicemail popped in after the 5th ring and she snapped her phone shut. Her heart had stopped beating by now. Opening it again, she held down his number.

"Sup sis?" Rosette's heart came back to life.

"Joshua, where are you? Aren't you supposed to be h-"

"Behind you," he cut her off.

She turned around and jumped at the sight of him. He was half naked with only a towel around his waist. His face was covered with white cream and his eyes shielded by two neatly cut cucumbers.

"What in the world have you been doing?" she scowled. Wasn't that HER face cream...?

"Beautifying myself, of course. What else should I be doing?" She could see him raise an eyebrow at her. Sighing in relief she walked over and hugged him.

"What normal little brothers should be doing," she replied. Surprised at her reaction, he blushed, thankful that the creamy mask covered his embarrassment. Rosette being nice only meant she was worried over something. Must be why she's home right now, he thought.

"By the way, did you see a snake around the house?" she asked, letting him go.

"Huh, snake? Did the zoo lose one or something?" Joshua popped out his cucumber slices and looked at her questionably.

"Er, no no. It's just that...one showed up in the house the other night." She scratched her cheek nervously. He stared at her for a moment. Rosette shut her eyes in hopes he wouldn't realize it. He analyzed her for another minute before cracking up.

"What's so funny huh?" she puffed out her cheek indignantly.

"Did your pet 'spider' escape the toilet then?" She sighed. At times like this, she wished her brother wasn't so darn smart. It just wasn't safe for her to hide secrets from him.

She pouted. "It was scary you know."

"Ever tried calling animal control?" he smirked. Ah, she massaged her head, why didn't she think about that? And why didn't she just call Joshua before she came home. Curse her idiotic impulses. "Knowing you, I bet you nearly killed your friends trying to run back here to check on me, didn't you?" Ooh, that hit a nerve. She really couldn't hide anything from him.

"Whatever," she waved him off, "and since when do you need to 'beautify' yourself. Don't we have pretty genes…well, at least I do."

"Hah, is that why you don't have a boyfriend?" He paused, thinking about the consequences before backing away. "You know, I was just joking!"

"JO-SHU-AAA!" she gritted out before grabbing his wrist and pulling him within attacking distance. She clicked her index and thumb anxiously and bit the back of his arm in an excruciatingly painful pinch. Joshua, who had been expecting the usual pounding screamed and tried to wrench himself free. After feeling that justice was done and paid, she let him drop to the floor. She was about to grab her things and take a shower when a car honked. Crap, she forgot about her friends. She ran out to apologize for making them wait and reassured them everything was fine. They just shook their head.

"Seriously Rosette, I swear everything you do is so pointless."

"I guess you'll be staying home then?" asked Claire.

"Yea, I'm really sorry. I'll make it up to you guys later," she apologized once again.

Mary poked her head out from the backseat, "We'll see you tomorrow then. Don't be late!" She only waved it off and patted the car.

"Alright, I'll TRY, but don't expect too much."

------------------------------

Rosette woke with a start this morning. Sitting up in bed, she thought for a minute. No weird dreams, she smiled to herself. Looking up at her ceiling clock, she had woken up half an hour before her alarm clock was due. Not believing her eyes, she hopped off the bed and grabbed her cell. She really was early, which means…the world is coming to an end, she thought wonderingly.

Everything was going so perfectly that morning. She even thought her clothes looked right and paired correctly. Her hair didn't frizz and she had a lovely breakfast. Everything was absolutely flawless, she paused before grabbing the car keys…so far.

In the car, Joshua was gazing out the window looking particularly unnerved. Rosette continued driving while humming happily. He blinked and interrupted her.

"You're actually driving in the lane today."

"Whatever do you mean?" she replied sweetly.

"We're also on time. More like, we're early," he said monotonously.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Not an inch of her voice had a trace of anger. Joshua sighed and just laid back in his seat, closing his eyes.

"Hell is freezing over…," he murmured.

------------------------------

The instant Mr. Remington, Rosette's 1st period history teacher, turned around, the stack of papers which he was holding had found leeway past his fingers and fell with a splat to the floor.

"R-Rosette! My goodness, what a pleasant surprise to see you before the bell for once!" he exclaimed. She smiled shyly and greeted him. Luckily, she had him as her 1st period teacher otherwise, she'd be in detention the entire year including weekends. Not only did Mr. Remington let her tardies slip by, but he even allowed her to sleep in class under certain circumstances. Why couldn't she have him for all her periods, she contemplated. It would save her so much hassle and he was even a great teacher. Since it was nearly impossible to not pass his class, many students pushed to be in at least one of his periods, and she was one of the lucky students to have him on her schedule. Sighing dreamily, she looked up as Mr. Remington cleared his throat for the class' attention.

"Welcome back to yet another week of school. It's Monday and we're all well rested I hope?" he looked around at the luminous smiles he received back, "Although we have a unit test this week…" Everyone groaned. He continued, "and finals is just around the corner," he waited for another wave of displeasure to sweep by, "our school has a few treats for you guys. First of all, early bird prom tickets are on sale next week. They'll be sold before school and during break and lunch. Also, as for you studious teens, there will be free ice cream at lunch today for 3.5 GPA or higher. Obviously, you'll need your ID card. Lastly, we have new exchange students joining us today. Since they're not from the area, a few people will be selected for them to accompany and show them how the school functions. You won't be able to see them now but they should be coming to classes tomorrow for sure," he chuckled lightly at some of their anxious faces.

As the lesson began, Rosette twirled her pencil thinking about the announcement. Fun, she thought absentmindedly, a great morning and now new students to disrupt class discussions? This really was her day. She closed her eyes imagining peacefully how smoothly the rest of her day would go. Her mind began to drift when she heard a jab in her back.

"Psst, Rosette! Wake up," hissed a very pale albino girl.

"Wah, Azmaria?" she mumbled sleepily.

"The office is calling for you, Rosette and Azmaria." She sat up at Mr. Remington's voice. "You two can come by later to pick up a copy of the notes when you have time," he smiled at her.

"Thank you, Mr. Remington." She grabbed her backpack and walked quickly out the door. Once in the hallway, she slowed to a crawl. The tiny girl followed her like a chick, looking up into the blond girl's face inquisitively.

Office? Did she do something bad again? She had such a fantastic morning though. She smooshed her face between her hands as she wondered how she had jinxed herself. Finally reaching the dean's office, she placed her hand on the door handle and took a deep breath before pushing down and swinging the door open.

"Why hello Rosette, Ms. Hendrick. Nice of you to actually come, Rosette," the dean grinned musingly at her presence. Rosette found herself in a room full of strangely dressed people along with some students from this school. She preferred not to take a closer look when the dean was eyeing her reactions.

"Um, is there a problem Mr. Dufoe?" She stared at her shoes. In the corner of her eyes, she could see everyone staring at her interestingly.

"Oh of course not. Not this time," he added twiddling his beard hairs, "but I've decided to pick you to lead the new students for tomorrow. This is just a meeting so you know who you'll be shadowed by for tomorrow's classes as well as the rest of today." He looked at his list for a moment. "Let's see, who's leftover…Ms. Hendrick, you have Sheda Nadine." An adorable girl with cat ear decorations waved enthusiastically at the shy girl.

The boy to her left raised his hand slightly. Rosette barely glanced at him briefly. Long purple hair, she observed, not hard to remember. She didn't have time to inspect his other features when Mr. Dufoe noticed the boy and spoke again.

"Ah yes, Rosette," he began, "meet Chrono Auran, your shadow for the rest of the week. You will have time to meet the others later so please," he turned to the others, "I hope you have a wonderful year here. You guys are dismissed."

------------------------------

She couldn't believe her luck. Not only did she get to escape class discussions, she wasn't required to complete her homework this week. She closed her eyes, her insides tightening from her sudden burst of happiness. The other students walked casually in front of their shadows chatting about what they were going to do with them, while the exchange students fell back into silent conversation. As usual, Azmaria was clinging to Rosette glancing at her hyper shadow. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't gotten a good look at her shadow.

Unlike her usual introverted-ness, she turned around to check out this 'Chrono' guy only to bump into him and trip backwards. In a flash, he whipped out his arms underneath her just inches above the ground. Rosette looked up, her eyes meeting with sharp, glimmering orbs of blood. Her heart thumped but before she could blush, her sanity came back to her. She brushed his arm away quickly so she could drop to the floor but he wouldn't let go. Sheda looked around the group and gave Chrono a conspicuous look.

"Ooh, Chrono in love?" she cooed.

Rosette squirmed. She did NOT like drama, and boys were the root of all drama. Not only did they cause girls to babble senselessly however, they even fought over some ridiculous feelings for each other. It was a pointless deal to her. She glared up at the boy hovering at her side.

"L-let go of me.." she shook. When he didn't respond, she pushed at his arm. "I said let go of me!"

His eyes were slightly glazed over as if something had taken control of his mind. A tall silvery long-haired boy next to Sheda turned to the scene.

"CHRONO! Release the girl…NOW," he warned, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Chrono dropped her and stood up shakily. He looked away and bit his lip in frustration. Rosette was surprised by what had suddenly taken place only to have her brain snap back in place. How rude, she sulked.

"R-Rosette! Are you ok?" Azmaria came running to her side to help her stand but only had her hands pushed away as well.

"I'm fine!" she spat, glowering at the guy that dared to grab her like that. "Come on, it's lunchtime. I'm starving!" Before anyone could open their mouth, she was already stomping around the corner after the other students.

The nerve of that guy! For a few minutes there, she thought she'd meet a decent guy. Someone different from all these mindless perverts at school (**a/n:** no offense to boys fyi). At this moment, she'd rather be anywhere else besides school, which reminded her; She was stuck with this guy for the rest of the week! She knew today was too good to be true.

She walked to the shortest lunch line and pulled out her ID card. She stared absentmindedly at the info, the chatters from the quad becoming a buzz in her ear.

Name: Christopher, Rosette

Grade: 10

School: Magdalene High School

Year: 05-06

ID #: 072107

The line budged and Rosette followed the wave of movement. She then shifted her eyes to her picture. God, couldn't ASB take better pictures? She looked like crap. Maybe that was why guys didn't like her. Sure she was scary but she never thought maybe it was because of her looks. She sighed sadly. Why did she care? Boys were bothersome pricks. No need to look pretty to impress no one, she reassured herself.

"Nice picture."

She jumped at the comment and bumped into the person in front of her. After apologizing several times, she turned back and caught herself looking eye to eye with that boy again.

"What do you want?" she huffed, looking away.

"I have to follow you…" He shuffled his feet nervously. "Sorry…"

"For what?" she interrupted him. His shoes suddenly seemed fascinating to him. She looked at him astonished. Maybe she was being too mean. He WAS from a different far away place after all. Maybe customs in his country were unusual.

He was still looking down when she perked up and said, "It's alright you know. Besides it's only your first day here isn't it? I should treat you then." She smiled warmly at him. He cocked his head silently. Now that she was actually looking at him fully for the first time, he wasn't so bad looking. A bit short for now, but he was only a sophomore. With time, he wouldn't look so wimpy, she giggled. He looked away hearing her light chortle. Knowing that she had won, she grabbed his hand and slapped down a $20 bill.

"1 Full pepperoni pizza with olives and sausages, 2 pink lemonade bottles please, and that'll be it," she ordered as she tapped in her ID number.

"T-That much," Chrono stuttered.

"Of course! It's my usual." Today had certainly become a good day again, she silently squealed.

"Who's it for?" he asked.

"Normally for me but since you're my guest for the rest of the week, I'll treat you today to let you get the hang of things," she pointed out. He didn't bother questioning about the amount she had just ordered.

The lunch lady came back with her food, drinks, and change. Grabbing the box of pizza, she pushed him through the exit and led him to her sitting spot.

"Alright, first things first. Don't do that weird stuff you did back there with me again. Got that?" She shot a look at him. He nodded quickly. "Good, fast learner huh? You better be if you want to live through me." Chrono winched as if he'd been mentally whipped. She looked up from her part of the pizza. "Wosh wung?" she asked mouth full. He shook his head. His silence was irritating her terribly. This guy wasn't going to survive high school like that. He'll be skinned alive, she thought devastatedly. Before she could whip him into her shape, her friends bounded up to her. Curses, she forgot to warn about her friends, since Chrono was pretty cute…

"OH MY GOD!" squealed Mary who was quick to attack Chrono. "Rosette, how'd did you pick up such a cute boy?"

"I didn't," she mumbled, "Dufoe left his bum in my care."

Anna ran over and grabbed his hands introducing herself, while Claire took her sweet time gliding over to him. They began to poke and inspect him and such leaving the poor boy to look Rosette's way for help. She could understand why the girls were so crazy over him. When his eyes started forming tears, she smashed down her finished pizza box and pulled the girls off him.

"Mary! Stop bothering the poor thing!" She slapped away her friend's wandering hands. "He IS another human you know. Give him a break, he probably thinks this is considered rape in his country."

The girls took a minute to let it sink in before calming down. Instead, they began bombing him with questions. Aggravated again, she bopped them all on the head and dragged Chrono away.

"You need to stand up for yourself squirt. I'm not going to be your babysitter for the rest of the year." She stared hard into his eyes. They really held an entrancing glow to them, she marveled when her eyes went out of focus. Shaking her head back to earth, she had him walk next to her to her next class rather than behind her. He really needed a backbone.

Classes that afternoon went by normally except now she had a shadow to whisper comments about the teachers to. He seemed to be doing just fine. A bit distracted, but fine. During her last uneventful period, she stole a glance at him and caught him frowning. Were the classes too hard to understand? She reached over and pushed on his forehead. He looked at her emptily when she released the tension in his face. What was his problem? Did he not like the school? Didn't like who he had to follow? Silence was a serious pet peeve for her, although, that would make her a hypocrite. She scowled at herself for even thinking that. It was obvious she was only quiet because there was nothing really to talk about people who didn't care to hear what she said.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day. Rosette stood up and stretched. Turning to face Chrono, she saw him secretly stifle a yawn. She smiled, knowing she wasn't the only one who found all of this boring.

"Can you find your way out? Or should I show you?" she asked.

"I know the way," he replied.

"Ok, good. I'll see you tomorrow by the office then?"

"Yea. Bye…Rosette." She lit up at the mention of her name.

"Ha hah, finally started using my name hm?" she teased, "it's about time. It took you over 5 hours just to use it once you know."

She tapped his nose, causing him to twitch it. She laughed and waved good bye as she let the door slam behind her. He turn around to head for the other door smirking. Maybe it'd be easier than he thought.

**-End Chapter 3-**

**A/N:** Ok, I'm sorry if there are a lot of mistakes. I didn't bother to proofread or even skim this. Not only did I put off my homework, but it's like 3:30 am right now. Please bear with me. I also have my first AP test or quiz thingy today so I'm basically screwing myself over just to bring you guys another lovely chapter of nonsense. BUT, I finally put Chrono in. Yay! I hate to break it to you guys, but you might not like how he is now, and maybe not later. I assure you though, I'm trying my best :). Also, please forgive me of my use of characters. I'm still thinking on how to shove them all into the story to make you people as happy as possible. Anyways, please do not put my efforts in vain. Read and REVIEW please. I've said please so many times. You guys think I must be desperate XD (which I am…staying up so late to keep up with fast paced updates).

**P.S. –** Before I forget (and receive more confused comments) I was to repeat that this story was not created originally for CC. That's why they're in 10th grade right now. I'm sorry for the stupid last names. I was never great at producing those. Also, I'm not fond at writing hang outs with her friends, so don't mind if I'm brief in those sections. Another note, Azmaria for now is just Rosette's admirer, just in case you guys get confused and start asking things again. As for Joshua, I know I'm being mean to him, but I've always wanted a little brother for me to do that to. So yea:D

**Next Chapter**: It's nothing new really. If you guys review your opinions, I'll decide whether to continue with the story, or write Chrono's side of the story for this chapter. Personally, if I told you Chrono's side, I think you guys would have slightly more insight (barely but sufficient) on why he acts the way he does.


	4. Arrival

**A/N:** Yet again putting off my homework to start this while I still have inspiration (-rambles on-). I love you guys. Thank you so much for your reviews! I didn't expect more than 10 with only 2 chapters and prologue out so far. ;; I really appreciate it. Woo, talk about a motivation spurt. So about this chapter, thanks for those who voted but it's inevitable that you guys must know Chrono's sides of the story from time to time to understand what's going on or maybe I should just intertwine it with Rosette's. I was also debating with myself whether to name my chapters #a/b for different sides but decided to keep the numbers going. I like seeing higher numbers in terms of achievement. (-embarrassed-)

**P.S. - **Oh the horror of made-up last names! I'll try to make this the only chapter they show up in. x.x

**snekochan: **To my fellow feline, I am very grateful for your inspiration even though you knew nothing about it. Although there's only been 2 chapters released, I would like to thank you (and everyone else!) for reviewing them all :). I know I haven't reviewed the majority of your chapters but I just started to so same difference! Anyways, sneko's fic **New Time, New Place** is really good so read and review it if you people haven't already. :D

**raspberrysorbet: **(-bops-) no more vampire talks! Chrono may be hot (vampires too) but he is NOT one. Stop playing with my head! (rawr) XD

**miaka24: **Yay thank you! "Only story" makes me feel so very special and about the characters, I didn't actually mean to have then even close to "in character". I'm still unsure because I want to change their attitudes to fit the original form of this story but if you prefer them to be mostly the same as the real series, please say so (same to all of you).

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Chrno Crusade or its characters, blah blah. I can see why you guys got tired of typing this so many darn times.

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**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 4: **Arrival

That same day earlier…

Snuggling into the sheets, Chrono moaned into his pillow. It had been weeks since he had a decent night of sleep, but he was successful in his mission nonetheless. He had managed to mark her and regained his full form. Only way to buy time for herself was to reject him, but none of the others had and neither did she. Like Aion said, it was impossible to break the seal once it was made. He smiled slightly in his sleep knowing there was no way she could escape now.

Crickets were chirping soothingly into the crisp night when a shadow crept over to the lump under the covers silencing them instantly.

"Chrono, it's time to go."

"…Few more minutes," he murmured back. The shadow chuckled.

"You'll be late for your first day you know. Besides, I've had it planned so she's set up with you." The top of the covers flew off as Chrono slid his legs over the side of the bed.

"Successful as usual huh, Aion?" The shadow smiled, revealing a row of shining white teeth in the moonlit room.

"She IS the last one, and only you…"

"Yea, I know." Chrono turned towards the window and gazed at the stars. "It's too bad I have to do all the work."

"But that's your advantage. I don't have any control in that matter." Aion turned to look at the sparkling sky as well. A particularly large star twinkled. Her star is still on Chrono's side of the constellation, he noted to himself.

"Chrono, Aion." Sheda popped her head in, ears twitching. "Everything's set. Our luggage is already there. You guys ready?" Aion turned towards the door and walked out, shortly followed by Chrono. Soon, he thought. When the three strolled out of the house, three others were waiting for them. Aion raised his hands for their attention.

"In a few moments, we will be departing for the California coastline (**a/n:** yes I know it's cheap but I'm not very knowledgeable of NY or other areas nor do I like research). Our era will come in just a year's time. Everything will be ours, however…" he paused looking at a few select members, "in her current state, she is potentially dangerous. As a warning, you WILL do as she says, unless you want to face consequences worst than death." His eyes began to glow darkly.

"Let's go, let's go!" cheered Sheda.

"Whatever." One of the men huffed while the other grunted. Suddenly, each member was emitted a bright golden light from their bodies and began to sprout sharp angular wings, their clothes transformed. Like a rocket, each one shot into the air following Aion's lead.

------------------------------

Rosette unconsciously slipped off her bed and looked out the window. It was still dark but she had obviously woken up way too early. Her eyes were fixated on the stars when suddenly a glimmer of gold whipped across the sky. On instinct, she folded her hands together and wished for countless impossible things.

"…and at least a decent day today," she mumbled before being knocked out back onto her bed, snoring loudly. Evidently, she never remembered anything before she actually woke up for school.

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"Hello. Please take a seat all of you," the dean gestured, "I'm Mr. Dufoe, your school dean. Since you are all new to this region, you will be shadowing some of our students at this school. Basically, that means you are assigned a student to follow throughout the school day until the end of this week. It's just to let you guys get the gist of how the school runs. Hold on a moment. I'll be calling them up now." He picked up his phone and pressed a button. Sheda kicked her legs happily while Rizelle, a dark long haired feminine girl twirled her hair around her finger. The others just remained impassive.

"May I please have the following students report to the dean's office?" Mr. Dufoe's voice echoed through the intercom outside the door. "Fiore and Satella Harvenheit, Azmaria Hendrick, Derek Choi, Rosette and Joshua Christopher. I repeat, may the following six students report to the dean's office?" he said, repeating their names again. Earlier, he thought about the related students but decided the new students would bond better in pairs. A few minutes passed before four students ambled in. "Good morning, I'm sorry that I'm short on seats so I hope you don't mind standing. It won't be for long. I'll start for now." Rizelle grew impatient and started to tap her foot. Mr. Dufoe raised an eyebrow at her.

"Rizelle Lambourne is it?" She nodded. "You will be assigned to Derek Choi," he pointed him out. Derek, happy knowing that he had a pretty girl for his shadow gave her one of his goofy grins. She just stuck her nose up at him and looked away. "Fiore, you will get Viede Malone. Genai Adlam will be with Satella. Aion Horatio, you will be with Joshua. Now for the other two…this'll take a moment."

As if expecting her tardiness, he greeted the girls calmly when they came in. "Why hello Ms. Hendrick. Nice of you to actually come, Rosette," the dean added, grinning musingly at her presence. She looked around in confusion, giving him her usual guilty look.

"Um, is there a problem Mr. Dufoe?" She stared at her shoes.

"Oh, of course not. Not this time," he said twiddling his beard hairs, "but I've decided to pick you to lead one of the new students for tomorrow. This is just a meeting so you know who you'll be shadowed by for tomorrow's classes." He looked at his list for a moment. "Let's see, who's leftover…Ms. Hendrick, you have Sheda Nadine." She waved enthusiastically at the shy girl. He wrote down Azmaria's name before looking up at Chrono.

"Ah yes, Rosette," he began, "meet Chrono Auran, your shadow for the rest of the week. You will have time to meet the others at lunch today so please," he turned to the others, "I hope you have a wonderful year here. You guys are dismissed."

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Chrono watched the blond girl in front of him in profound thought off in her own little world. Perfect. So far, the plan hadn't faltered. All of a sudden, he was caught off guard when the girl wheeled around and bumped into him. To him, she was practically falling back in slow motion. Quickly, he took a short step forward and situated his arms in the spot where she was supposed to fall. To his surprise, she was extremely light and easy to hold. Sheda looked around the group and gave Chrono a conspicuous look.

"Ooh, Chrono in love?" she cooed.

He stared down into her clear water-blue eyes before it suddenly hit him. He felt chained down, controlled by an unknown force. Voices reverberated inside his head giving him a severe headache. It was getting harder for him to breathe every second. It felt as if someone was trying to strangle him and he couldn't resist any of it. Right when his supply of air was about to cut off completely...

"CHRONO!"

His senses rushed back to him as his eyes dilated. He shakily stood up, not realizing that he had dropped the girl. What the heck was that, he thought. He bit his lip and grimaced. That wasn't supposed to happen...

"R-Rosette! Are you ok?" the pale girl came running to her side to help her stand only to have her hands pushed away.

"I'm fine!" she spat, glowering at him. She stood up brushing herself off before announcing roughly, "Come on, it's lunchtime. I'm starving!" Before anyone could say a thing, she was already stomping around the corner after the other students. Aion watched as she disappeared and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Don't let her kill you," he whispered softly before following Joshua. Chrono looked unnerved and shivered. To think he'd been that close to death just by her stare, he really couldn't afford anymore arrogant moves. He stood there for a bit, unaware of the ogling girls passing by, and then headed in the same direction. No matter what happened, he had to somehow gain her favor.

Once he entered the lunch area, he found himself to be completely lost. This place was huge! He whined softly and decided to walk around in hopes of finding her out of sheer luck. He looked down at the pocket watch resting on his chest and checked the time. He still had twenty minutes left to find her in the crowded mess. One particularly brave girl recognized him as one of the new students and tapped him on the back. He turned around giving her a sharp glare that screamed, "What the &#$ do you want!" She squeaked and jumped back in fear.

"Are…you lost?" she asked, her voice considerably higher than usual. Suddenly realizing where he was, he softened his eyes and nodded.

"Do you know where the cafeteria may be?" he inquired, changing his tone of voice. The girl regained her confidence immediately and sent a quick gleeful smile back at her friends.

"Come on, I'll show you." She grabbed his hand. Behind her back, Chrono just sneered at such a bold attempt to flirt with him but allowed her to steer him through the crowd. He was too busy trying not to step on anyone when the girl made an abrupt stop and pointed over some heads. "You need company in line?" she asked hopefully.

"No thanks," he replied distractedly. She pouted and walked off dreamily.

There she was. It actually wasn't that hard to spot her, seeing that she had on the glummest face in the area. He stalked over and noticed that she was looking at some kind of card. Moving quietly behind her, he looked at the tiny photo on her ID card.

"Nice picture."

The girl's eyes widened and she jumped forward, finally noticing the light breathing that had been on her neck a second ago. She apologized profusely to the large boy in front before turning to face him.

"What do you want?" she huffed, looking away. He really didn't like this type of attitude, but he had to.

"I have to follow you…" He shuffled his feet nervously. "Sorry…" He crossed his fingers, hoping for her to sympathize.

"For what," she interrupted him. He took a quick peek at her face. Crap, no pity there. He looked down at his shoes thinking of what to do next. He was still planning when she perked up and said, "It's alright you know. Besides it's only your first day here isn't it? I should treat you then." She smiled warmly at him. He cocked his head silently and made a mental note to stay on the good side of bipolar people. Mood swings just weren't healthy.

She was still staring at him strangely causing him to sweat nervously. She giggled and he turned away indignantly. What was so funny, he sulked. Before he had another thought, she grabbed his hand and ushered him forward in the line. Now at the front of the line, she leaned on the counter and slapped down a $20 bill.

"1 Full pepperoni pizza with olives and sausages, 2 pink lemonade bottles please, and that'll be it," she ordered as she tapped in her ID number.

"T-That much," Chrono stuttered. Holy cow, his eyes bugged. Not only was she a bipolar lethal weapon, but she had a huge appetite. NOT a safe combination for him at the least.

"Of course! It's my usual."

"Who's it for?" he asked, hoping for the not-so-obvious answer.

"Normally for me but since you're my guest for the rest of the week, I'll treat you today to let you get the hang of things," she pointed out.

The lunch lady came back with the food and change. Grabbing the box of pizza, she nudged him through the exit and led him to a bench.

"Alright, first things first. Don't do that weird stuff you did back there with me again. Got that?" She shot a look at him. He nodded quickly. "Good, fast learner huh? You better be if you want to live through me." He winched as if he'd been mentally whipped. She looked up from her part of the pizza. "Wosh wung?" she asked mouth full with food. He shook his head. The girl was too preoccupied with her own thoughts and missed his exasperated sigh. This was going to take a long time, he thought. Having to stick with such a dangerous presence, he was thankful that he had a little over a year left.

"OH MY GOD!" squealed a short blond who quickly pounced on him. "Rosette, how'd did you pick up such a cute boy!"

"I didn't," she mumbled, "Dufoe left his bum in my care."

Another girl ran over and grabbed his hands introducing herself, while the last girl, a brunette took her time gliding over to him. They began to poke and inspect him and irritating him more than expected. Through all the fuss, he managed to throw her a pleading look for help. He waited, interested in her reaction but she did nothing. Cursing softly, he decided to pull his pathetic act again. He quickly blinked and contorted his face, allowing tears to form. A second before one could fall, Rosette smashed down her finished pizza box and pulled the girls off him. Works every time, he smirked.

"Mary! Stop bothering the poor thing!" Rosette slapped away her friend's wandering hands. "Chrono IS another human you know. Give him a break. He probably thinks this is considered rape in his country."

'_Human_', he mused. That was an absolute understatement.

All of a sudden, he was bombarded by a second wave of excited probing from the girls. Aggravated again, Rosette bopped them all on the head and dragged him away.

"You need to stand up for yourself squirt. I'm not going to be your babysitter for the rest of the year." She stared hard into his eyes. Chrono stared back. He could see the surface of her eyes smoothing over like an iridescent bubble. Shaking her head, she had him walk next to her to her next class rather than behind her. He glanced at her on the way. So, he made another mental note, she treated him like an equal. Nothing more…nothing less. She would prove to be an interesting…

Chrono sighed, cutting through his own thoughts. School was so pointless. Then again, humans were so clueless about the world, the REAL world. They probably wouldn't figure it out even after they died. With all these thoughts about them, he really needed to think about how to get her to release it. Frowning, he stared at the board hoping for a logical answer but expected nothing back.

The bell trilled followed by the noisy shuffle of relieved students . Rosette stood up and stretched as he stifled a yawn. Thinking too much made him really tired. It'll eventually work out, he hoped.

Catching his attention, Rosette asked, "Can you find your way out? Or should I show you?"

"I know the way," he replied.

"Ok, good. I'll see you tomorrow by the office then?"

"Yea. Bye…Rosette." Her eyes widened at the mention of her name.

"Ha hah, finally started using my name hm?" she teased, "It's about time. It took you over 5 hours just to use it once you know."

She tapped his nose playfully. He wrinkled up his nose and backed up as if he'd just stuck his nose over a bottle of vinegar. She laughed and waved good bye as she let the door slam behind her.

Walking contentedly towards the parking lot, she smiled. Although she didn't want to admit it, not only was he considerably good looking compared to most guys, but by the air he carried around him he obviously always seemed to get what he wanted. Now that she had a legal slave following her everyday… the thought suddenly made her break into a mischievous grin. She wasn't going to let him have his way especially when she was going to make sure to exploit him and everything he had.

**-End Chapter 4-**

**A/N:** Ah, sorry if this chapter was just a repeat of the last chapter! Although I finished this a day earlier, I'm releasing it sooner than I planned. Hopefully, I'll have time to think up the next chapter ya? I'm very very very satisfied with the reviews :3. Oh gosh I have butterflies in my tummy (-stares at reviews-). Oh. My. God. (-squeals!-) I swear I check my stats page more times than the amount of letters I've used so far. Alright, I know people prefer to "get it on" with stories, but I plan to drag it out a lot so be prepared to endure fillers! (-grins-) Sooo…**R+R**! A happy authoress makes happy (and angry) readers and vice versa.

**P.S. –** Uh, at the time that I typed the p.s., I think I suddenly hit writer's block…I know I had most of it imagined in class already but, omgsh I think I forgot it XD. So much for trying to update every 2-3 days. Also, a warning. I might have started off too far and fast into the story (but you guys seem fine with it) so the next few chapters may be very slow (but productively fun!).

**-Golden Moment #1-**

(Ok, you ask what this is? Well it's exactly what you read it as. A golden moment (Kodak?). It basically ranges from my random thoughts to side stories that would be strangely awkward to add to the real thing. From time to time, I'll add these (due to my own boredom) at the end of chapters for your (and my) own amusement. I find that little short side stories help relieve me from cliffies if there happens to be one, so please enjoy!)

Inner Posh: Finally, done with another chapter.

Posh: (-grins-) Ooh! I'm so excited to see what happens next!

IP: Hmm, I didn't expect that at the end when I finished this chapter. Never thought about that when I first came up with this idea.

Posh: What's going to happen now then?

IP: …ask yourself.

Posh: But YOU'RE the one writing the story. How am I supposed to know?

IP: I AM you fool. I know just as much as you do stupid.

Posh: So if we don't know…how do we write it?

IP: Go daydream. It'll come soon.

Posh: (-smack-) You go dream for me. I'll sleep.

IP: No.

Posh: Stop rambling already and end the chapter.

IP: …

**-End GMom#1-**

**Note:** Whoa, I have notes plastered all over my chapter. I apologize in advance! But yes… FYI, I wait just as anxiously as you guys do to see what happens next. So far, I like it and you guys better too. Or else…


	5. Cut Ties

**A/N: **Such tedious busy work I have in my classes. It's only the 2nd week and I'm about to be bombed by hordes of tests and quizzes. I mean really, I know it's my junior year and all but I'm not one to harbor stress if it's unnecessary. And to me, stress is for the mentally weak! Anyways, I just realized that I gave soooooo many spoilers already. Must stop or I'll ruin the story! Um ok, so I left my notes half blank so I could fill them in after but this chapter is plain retarded. I came up with an idea and it just didn't work the way I wanted. I just wasted like 3 hours on 2000 worthless words. God I'm an idiot. (-bops herself-) Makes you wonder why I never had the patience to write anything until now. My memory is so horrible, Ill get a great idea and it washes away the instant I stop fantasizing about it. (18 hours later…) Crap, I redid that chapter again. I guess this chapter will have to be what you guys would call a bridge? This is like utter torture to my numb skull. I'll probably end up retyping this for the 4th time or edit like mad. It really sucks. If I don't like my own chapter, how do I expect you guys to like it? Curse writer's block. Must…endure…and prevail… (More than 12 hours later)…I redid the chapter again... (Unknown hours later) still typing, still looking for an idea. Darn it snekochan, since you've slowed your updates, my inspiration inputs have died xx.

**Miaka24: **You are too kind :O I feel so warm and fuzzy (-tries to belch-) Ahem, what's funny about that is I burp best when I haven't eaten in so long that bubbles of foodlessness form and I can actually burp. It's pretty ironic since I have to literally suffer just to "belch out more great chapters." XD But thanks so much for your support! Many hearts to you my love. :P

**Note:** The school has 2 campuses, Main and West, connected by a crosswalk and bridge. Main is the larger one where the whole central offices and quad/lunch area are. And once a week, every class is required to endure at least 15 minutes of SSR (silent sustained reading) just because the school's so picky about the testing scores. Some teachers ignore this though. Like instead of once a week, they'll do it every other week.

**Disclaimer:** Um…I'll keep wishing?

------------------------------**  
**

**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 5:** Cut Ties

Chrono stepped off the bridge of the school along side of Aion. In the distance on the field in front of the office sat Joshua with Rosette standing beside him. Both of them were leaning calmly against one of the more prominent trees, letting the wind control any loose items on them. Rosette dropped her gaze towards Joshua before swiping the lollipop from his mouth between her index and middle finger and popping it into her own. He looked up at her and made to protest when he spotted the two walking towards them. Still out of earshot of the boys, Joshua complained to his sister.

"This shadow thing sucks. That guy's like…two grades higher than me. I feel like he's the one leading me around." Rosette snorted.

"Don't complain squirt. So what's he like?"

"Pretty cool I guess. Seems pretty freaky if you ask me though," he grimaced. Rosette looked up at the approaching misfits to check out white-haired one better.

"He's not bad you know," she said after some consideration.

"For you, you mean. I don't know how much you do or don't mind, but I prefer to keep my homophobic status thanks," he huffed. She laughed, and then straightening her posture a bit, rested a hand on her stomach. She really needed to wake up earlier for breakfast. Maybe suing the school would do. After all, it was their fault for making class start so early and the cafeteria didn't even serve food in the morning! Joshua stood up knowing that once she had her mind on food, he wouldn't be able to break the chain of thoughts anyways so he bounded up to Aion.

"Ready?" he chirped. Aion had already started walking, leaving Joshua to puff out his cheeks in displeasure. Feeling his leak of annoyance, Rosette came up behind her brother and ruffled his hair before pushing him to follow. Silly kid, she smiled. Then turning back to Chrono, she flashed him a fierce look and held the lollipop firm in her hand.

"You're LATE!" she scolded shoving the rest of the candy up his nostril and marched to class.

------------------------------

"Quiet down class! Today is SSR so please take out your reading books. If you don't have one, please grab one from the cabinet. And just a reminder for the usual _unprepared_ students, I still dock five points every time you don't bring one." She sent an icy glare especially at a certain blonde sitting in the back. Rosette trudged to the front of the class and slowly reached for thin book. Ms. Kate cleared her throat loudly causing her to scurry back to her seat quickly. "Timer starts now."

Five minutes into SSR, Chrono stole a glance at Rosette and sweatdropped at the sight. She had the book open, but behind the pages she was snoring away happily, a puddle of drool at her mouth. He snickered silently and his elbow slipped off the table. Recovering quickly before anyone noticed, he looked back at her comical face. He shook his head laughing slightly. Thinking about what to do, he discreetly slid his foot out and reached over to shake Rosette's desk before Ms. Kate noticed but it was too late. When Rosette snored, it wasn't just a slightly harsher breathing pattern; it was all out pig-snorting. The enraged teacher stomped her way to the back of the room and placed her hand on her hip. With the other hand, she slammed the top of Rosette's book flat on the desk only to have her fingers come in contact with a pool of slimy wetness. Shrieking, she retracted her hand and shook it violently spraying nearby students with saliva. During all of this, Rosette just popped up straight in her seat, obviously still half asleep. She raised a finger as if to make a point, announced, "It's lunchtime!" and fell off her seat flat-faced on the ground muttering about food.

------------------------------

"It's not my fault her class is so boring!" Rosette tried to justify.

"So that's why you fall asleep in EVERY class?" He gave her an amusing smile. A growl rumbled in her throat and Chrono made no further attempt to taunt her no matter how funny; a lesson he learned in just a few short minutes upon meeting her.

"Jeez, just my luck. Detention on Saturday. Who the heck has time to go to school on Saturday!" she screamed at nothing. Sighing, she poked at her sandwich and stuffed it into her mouth in one bite. Suddenly, she turned to Chrono's untouched lunch.

"You gonna finish that?"

"Um, no."

"Ok, thanks!" She swiped the food off his lap and began munching on it but slowed her chomping to a stop. "…You eat a lot of meat." She flipped the top of his sandwich off revealing layers and layers of carnage. "My god, don't you get sick of this much?" she stared in surprise.

"You sure don't seem to, so does it matter?" he shrugged. She gaped at the folds for awhile and shook her head. _Still_, she thought, _that was overdoing it_. They sat there in silence after all the food was gone. She leaned back against the wall and stared up at the clouds. _The weather's been nice lately. I guess summer's coming soon._ She breathed a sigh of content and looked at Chrono. He was leaning back to, eyes closed. _Shouldn't he be hanging with his friends? Those people in the office were his friends, right?_

"Hey, why are you still around me?" she asked.

"It's only been two days. My week with you isn't up yet," he replied.

"But it's lunchtime. It's not like you have to act like my friend just because you have to follow me," she spout back.

"Good point. Bye then." He pushed himself off the bench but was pulled back abruptly.

"I was kidding! If you have to follow me, I'm going to make sure you suffer too," she smiled devilishly. He just shrugged and leaned back again. _What's his problem? He's so out of it today. Did I say something to upset him?_ She pondered for a few minutes, thinking about his sudden change of attitude. All of a sudden, she sat up and grabbed his shirt.

"Wait a second! What happened to being all shy huh!" She shook him roughly making sure he answered fully.

"Heh," he smirked, "who ever said I was shy?" Rosette looked like she was about to kill and gripped his collar tighter. He just continued smiling arrogantly. "Is that so much of a surprise for you? You haven't even known me for more than 30 hours and you think you know who I am already? Tsk tsk, no wonder you don't have friends." Rosette choked and stopped her assault on his skull. Her fingers loosened, allowing his shirt to slip through before turning around and running off without her backpack. Chrono, who was already busy with his own thoughts, missed the flicker of hurt that crossed her eyes before she turned.

_I hate him!_ She squinted her eyes shut to hold back the tears. If it weren't for the fact that she was in school, she'd have already…No! She wasn't like that. Why was she even crying? He lied about her not having friends because what did that make Mary, Anna, and even Claire? She liked them much more than the average person for sure. _Great, now I'm even babbling in my own head._ She slowed down enough not to look like there was anything wrong but she still had her eyes closed and bumped into a soft object. She fell back in shock and blinked up at the tall figure.

"Oh, hello there." A male caught her and Rosette shakily allowed herself to be pulled up. Now that the sun wasn't blinding her, she looked straight up into the face of the white-haired guy escorted by Joshua. He smiled warmly at her and she found herself to be blushing slightly.

"S-Sorry about that. I d-didn't see where I was going," she stuttered.

"It's fine. I'm sure we haven't met properly yet. I'm Aion." She couldn't stop staring at how his eyes lighted up and his hair shined bright silver.

"I'm Rosette. Nice to meet you." She averted her eyes so she wouldn't have a reason to blush.

"I've heard a lot about you from your brother. He's really _entertaining_." His emphasis on that word sent shivers down her spine. She nearly forgot why she was even talking to him when the bell rang.

"Ah well, he's nice so please treat him well. I have to go to class now and sorry about earlier!" she forced a smile. With that, she ran off again forgetting all about her backpack. He watched her run off and chuckled. She was indeed interesting.

------------------------------

Rosette stared at the empty board in front of her in a dazed state. Out of the blue, her backpack dropped in front of her, blocking her view. She looked up emotionlessly and saw Chrono raising his eyebrow in confusion.

"Uh, you forgot your backpack." Snapping back to reality, she snatched her backpack off her desk and glared at him. Frightened, Chrono backed away until she sighed and buried her face in her arms again.

Class was uneventful and Rosette slept silently the whole time, or so Chrono thought. She stared at the wood markings centimeters from her face. She could slightly see a part of her reflection on the polished surface, but in her current state, she didn't want to see the other her. Quietly, she puffed out a breath of hot air and the image was instantly erased. _I'm tired_, she thought and drifted off to sleep.

------------------------------

The week passed by swiftly and nothing more happened. Rosette practically became mute and even speech with her brother was limited. Joshua was worried but said nothing. _If she felt like telling me something, she'll say it when she wants to_, he thought. The days wore on, the weather turned awfully hot in just a few days. Bees were buzzing making up for Rosette's silence. Even her own mind shut off from her mouth and eventually, she wouldn't even say anything to her brother. He was itching to comfort her, but by this age, he knew he had no control or any power to help her. It was up to whoever did this to her to undo it.

On Friday, she sat alone at lunch again. More like, she was unaware that Chrono was still following her around. She was nibbling her sandwich feverishly and nearly gnawed her finger off when a shadow stepped over her.

"Rosette, come eat with me," smiled a small girl. She looked up and saw Azmaria's pale ruby gazing down at her. The girl reached out her hand and Rosette unconsciously gave her hand in return. Her mind would be questioning why she was talking to her by now, but her mind was blank. As she stood up, Chrono made to follow but Azmaria shook her head at him. He looked absolutely confused but stayed and let Rosette be tugged away.

Azmaria sat the silent girl down against the tree and let her breathe for awhile. She reached over and cupped one of her hands lovingly. Slowly, she cocked her head back and sang a soothing lullaby. After awhile she looked up and saw that Rosette was sound asleep. Her eyes filled with pity and she smiled sadly. She stayed by her side until the bell rang and quietly left.

A sweet smell filled her nose and she began to stir. Rosette opened her eyes and saw Chrono's face just inches from hers. It took a moment before he realized where he was and quickly blushed. Noticing her current situation, she inhaled shortly and released an ear splitting scream. The next thing she knew was that Chrono had scampered back as far as possible looking frightened. After they settled down, he sat next to her, his cheeks still flushed from being caught so close to her.

"You missed your classes after lunch you know." He looked away.

"…" She didn't know what to say. Her mind was suddenly alive again and replaying the image of his face over and over. She shook her head violently to clear her head. They sat there for a short time until Chrono spoke up again.

"I guess our week is over. I won't be seeing you much anymore since my schedule isn't the same as yours." He got to his feet and looked over his shoulder. "I'll see you around then Rosette." He walked off towards the school gates.

…_Don't…don't go!_ A tear slid down her cheek and she watched him walk further away. He was leaving, going away to someplace she didn't know. Her mouth wouldn't form words and her lips began to tremble. She knew it was coming but didn't feel the impact until now. Their week was over and he had no reason to continue following her around like an attached stray puppy. She shut her eyes tight and forced all of her energy to pry open her vocal cords.

"Don't leave me!" she cried reaching out for him.

**-End Chapter 5-**

------------------------------

**A/N: **YES I'M DONE! (-cheers-) My god, even my motivation failed me this weekend. I'm so sorry for the slow update (not really) but I'm trying my best to not make the chapter as boring as I think it looks. I actually tried to plan this chapter out but like all my other plans, it fails and I ended up remaking the whole thing over and over. I even made a schedule mistake and it was too much work so I had to fix the prologue slightly. Hope you guys didn't catch the mistake :P. Anyways, since I spent so much time rewriting this, screw editing. I'll let you guys suffer my horrible grammar and punctuation. ALSO, please don't kill me for what I had Aion do XD. I hate that match but I found it to be very interesting. Now this is when you guys will notice that the characters are VERY OOC. But it's cool because I set up an awesome future for one of our more sideline characters. Um and about what Chrono is thinking about all this time, I hate to cut you guys from the facts for now but his thoughts can't be revealed until later. It's too big of a jump in plot and I can't have that now can I? Hm, I think I'll try to use italics again because it's easier to use for first person thoughts, but they sure are a pain to put in. This really is a drama. Ah drama drama…I hate drama. It's fun to watch; that's if I'm not part of it though ;D. Bleh. Well I have to start my AP homework now (shit it's already 11pm). Please enjoy and R+R! (-lubs-)


	6. Mutual Friendship

**A/N: **Ms. Posh is back (what's the difference between Miss and Ms.?). I have a few things to say. I am so happy. My orch dorkness led me to a lovely fieldtrip which I got some great inspiration from falling asleep while the boring people played very sleepy music. I think it was just my insanity but I was imagining some really weird things in the theater. However, I can't tell you guys just what the heck I saw because I might actually use it for far-in-the-future chapters. Anyways, I got a total thrill from imagining what it'd be like for the balconies to fall one after another on top of each other. Sure there'd be a lot of dead people but it would remind me of Supreme Scream with no seatbelts. So that was totally off topic. The point of all of this is I have so little homework tonight and you guys know what that means right? **Currently:** Um, guess I didn't update XD. Sorry guys! I'll just zip by this block and move on to the main story, or so I hoped. If you guys were waiting for anything fluffy, just to tell you, it's not coming anytime soon (and I'm serious). But, I hope you enjoy it anyways!

**Miaka24: **Hehe, you do realize that your failure means your partial happiness and my success right? If my story can make you fail, not only are you happy to read it, but I'm happy to know it has drastic effects. It's a half win-win situation. :D

**Snekochan: **A vacuum…? Wait, what did I say? O.o (-doesn't get it-)

**Disclaimer:** I know everyone wants to own hot sexy people even if it's a cartoon, but still, there's a limit to what we're allowed to claim ownership over.

-----------------------------**-**

**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 6: **Mutual Friendship

Rosette choked on her tears. He was leaving. _Don't leave…_

"Hm?" Chrono looked back and saw her tense body. She was clutching the grass tightly with her head bowed. Her bangs had fallen over her eyes making it impossible for him to read her expression. Out of anxious curiosity, he turned around, strode back over and squatted in front of her. "Rosette?" he asked, his voice unsure. He reached out and made to sweep her bangs out of her eyes, but only had his hand swatted away in response. He looked down and noticed that she was shaking uncontrollably, especially her hands.

"Y..y…," she started. She balled her hands into fists, scraping dirt into her palm. "..You…" Her speech was tense and sounded pained. Chrono's eyes widened in surprise and his heart began to race. The color of his eyes began to swirl slightly hinting a streak of amber before the pupils contracted into slits. Shaking slightly this time, he reached out again with his right hand and tried to brush away the blonde strands when the air was knocked out of him. "YOU JERK!"

Laying flat on his back, Chrono groaned and his hand immediately flew to his cheek. _That hurt… _He rubbed it tenderly and looked up regretting it right away. Rosette was slumped and balancing against the tree with one hand. Suddenly, her head snapped up revealing beaming eyes. Her mouth twitched into an evil smile and she took a step towards him. Chrono's heart stopped and a tiny peep escaped his lips. He slowly tried to scamper backwards but tripped on hem of his pants.

"Chro—no…" She dragged his name out slowly. _Not good._ He quickly flipped over on fours and tried to get up and run for it. Rosette instantly pounced, ready to beat the pulp out of him.

"Sorry!" Chrono's voice cracked as he covered his eyes and curled up into a defensive ball.

------------------------------

And the weekend passed uneventfully…

"Chrono! What happened to your face?" Mary peered closely at his swelled purple cheeks. Chrono only smiled up at her.

"It's nothing. Besides, you shouldn't worry about my appearance." He cocked his head innocently. "I mean, you look nice today." Mary gasped and twirled right into Anna and squeezed her arm.

"Anna…," she swooned, "I think I'm in love." The red head only rolled her eyes and greeted Chrono cheerfully.

"So, where's Rosette now?" she asked.

"That's a good question." Rosette casually passed them and headed towards the bench. As she passed Chrono, she only gave him a bored look and sat down at the end. The two girls stared at them curiously. Breaking the silence, Claire had walked up and sat down next to Chrono.

"I was wondering Chrono, you're not shadowing Rosette anymore, so why are you still here?" Claire bit into a peach dryly. He shrugged.

"No frien-HEY!" Mary jabbed Anna in the ribs.

"Shh, he's hanging with us isn't he?" She clapped her hands together and stared off into space again.

"I don't care," Anna shrugged, "but it sure is boring lately. Don't we need a new toy?" Jelly spurt from Chrono's sandwich as his hands clenched the slices together. No one seemed to notice except Rosette. She cast him a wary eye and stood up and began walking away.

"Where are you going Rosette?" they asked in unison. She stopped for a moment before whipping her head around with the same malicious beam in her eyes. "Er…nevermind." They sweated nervously and waved her off. She could still be seen on the other side of the quad when Chrono closed his eyes in thought. He stood up as well and followed her.

"C-Chrono, you too?" Mary whined. His only reply was a cool smile distorted by his bruised cheek. Countless eyes followed him as he strode across the lunch area. The girls especially were whispering among themselves and pointing, some giggling others frowning. He ignored all of the chattering and missed an utter of a "fan club." It wasn't absolutely hard to see why such chitchat took place wherever he went. Although he was still pretty short for a normal guy, he had an amazing head full of rich violet hair that reached down to his waist. His clothes, though not with any current trends, had a huge touch of sophistication. And on days he wasn't dressed stylishly, he was sporting comfortable clothes that brought out the color of his eyes and his flowing hair. So then of course, a fan club was considered a high priority subject to the crazed girls.

Rosette stopped in front of the same tree smiled at the small girl that sat there. She looked up and returned the smile with one of her own.

"Hey Rosette, glad you came," she said softly.

"Yup, I didn't think you'd be so different after a few days Azmaria," Rosette chuckled, "Not your usual clingy self?"

"Well I don't really have a reason to now but yea, "she replied. Rosette gave her a questioning look and sat down next to her.

"Don't tell me I wasn't tricked into coming here, was I?" Rosette asked suspiciously. Azmaria plucked a random dandelion and twirled it in her finger.

"Um, I won't then," she said uncertainly dropping the dandelion.

"What! So you and Chrono are-"

"No." Chrono appeared in front of them and crushed the flower on the ground. He turned to Azmaria and glared at her. When Rosette wasn't looking, she shot him a disgusted look back. She grabbed Rosette's sleeve and tugged.

"You brought him along…?" she asked hesitantly.

"I never said he couldn't follow. Why?" Azmaria looked at her disbelievingly. "Is there something wrong with that?" She shook her head.

"No no, nothing's wrong. I better go now. I'll see you tomorrow Rosette." And turning to Chrono, she managed to grind out a goodbye.

"Wonder what happened," Rosette pondered quietly then looked at Chrono who stared back at her. A minute of silence passed when Chrono fell to his knees and they both began cracking up.

"D-Did you see her f-face!" Rosette exclaimed between bursts of laughter. "You w-were s-so right Chrono." She was finally able to breathe properly again. "I never thought little Azzy had such a serious side. I didn't know dimples showed up even when you're serious. Oh my god it was like a crater! That was sooo scary," she giggled. Chrono chuckled and gave her a charming smile and reached out for her hand.

"I'm delighted that you enjoyed that, your_ Majesty._" He bent down and pecked her hand teasingly. Rosette pulled her hand away lightly and smirked.

"Don't think that'll work on me pretty boy. That stuff's creepy you know." Chrono shrugged in defeat.

"It was worth a try."

"Going to keep your promise now?" she sighed, her voice now serious. He looked at her dubiously. On instinct, she bopped him. "Jeez, you forgot already? Your memory's even worse than mine!" He grinned mischievously.

"Just kidd—OW!" She bopped him again.

"Just say it," she said bluntly, "and you better mean it too!" She glared at him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

------------------------------

(**-Flashback-**)

Rosette pounced, poised fingers ready to attack.

"Sorry!" Chrono's squeaked as he curled up into the fetus position.

(Violent scene omitted -cough-)

"What are you sorry for!" she screeched at him. She held him by the collar pinned to the ground and proceeded to shake all the sense out of him.

"I don't know!" he cried.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" she thundered. "Don't know what! Do you even know what you said to me?" She continued her constant scrubbing.

(5 minutes later)

"Fine! Only if yo-"

"Are you even in the position to be making deals!" Rosette sent a sharp punch to his head.

"But you have to!" He began to gain confidence.

"Just say sorry!"

"No." She reached for his throat. "OK OK! But just do it. It's nothing big and I'll say it then."

"Promise?" She eyed him skeptically.

"Cross my heart and hope t-"

"You better expect it," she interrupted coldly and dropped him.

(**-End Flashback-**)

------------------------------

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry for what I said earlier. Happy?" He opened them again and found that Rosette was already on her feet and running across the field. She stopped and flipped her head back at him. She grinned cheekily and mouthed a 'Thanks' and fainted.

"_Rosette!_." She could barely hear him as he held her up in his arms. "_Rosette, are you ok?_" Her vision blurred and her eyes were closing slowly. "_Rosette...!_" Her stomach growled.

"Fo—od…," she mumbled before passing out. Chrono stared down at her and sweat dropped. The lunch bell rang and after awhile, he smiled. _You're going to miss class again._

_Silly girl._

And Rosette responded unconsciously with a smile too as she drifted off to dreamland.

------------------------------

Her thoughts drifted and soon her surroundings became clear… (She's dreaming)

(**a/n: **You don't need to read all of this if you don't want to)

_I don't know why they attacked her but I saw the assault on my mother, or so I thought. I tried to stop them and for some reason, I was wielding a long sharp rapier-like sword. On instinct, I made a swing at one of them. He received a shallow gash on his arm. I kept swinging until I realized that "they" were actually two boys slightly older than me and both were sporting two cuts each on their upper bodies. By now, the background had gone black but their image remained. As if time had stopped for me, I was able to get a good look at both of them, only one of which I can recall more clearly. The one closest to me had dark, short ruffled hair who looked to be about sixteen. There was not much I could remember but he was handsome for sure and carried an air of higher status than the second boy. I shifted to look at him and found that he was quite a catch too, except with lighter wind-blown hair and slightly younger than the other. That was the moment I sometimes regret ever staining my mind with his image. It was as if in this alternate universe, my personality had turned inside out. Instead of the doubting girl who absolutely made sure that nothing could hurt her more tender loving side, I was a girl who believed in everyone even though my gut told me otherwise._

_I was wandering around aimlessly, as if my mother had never recovered from the attack. Somehow unknown to me, I suddenly realized my house was really a mansion, huge and empty. Out of all the emptiness, people came and went like nothing and one day, he appeared in front of me smiling. The lighter haired boy had changed slightly. His hair was shorter and messier in a very adorable way and his features were gentler than when I last saw him. At that moment, my world of loneliness flipped around._

_Even before we began to hang out, I could tell he wasn't the average person. He was kind but filled with mild justice, a kind I never thought I would subject to in my real body. He also held power, although it was unknown by anyone below him besides me. He would visit often and stick around with whatever I did. For once in my life, I embraced his support and allowed his silent words to guide me._

_I was in my house one day and noticed people just lounging in it as if they were allowed to. Since I was already content, I said nothing and walked to a garage-like room. It was wide and spacious like a ballroom but I knew someone else had tried to claim it. Apparently, one of the stuck-up girls had planned to hold a party on MY property without permission. I didn't mind but it was annoying that she didn't bother to ask for its usage. I confronted her and told her to keep it to a minimum since it was my house. She was obviously irritated because I held power over her. It felt good though since I didn't misuse my unseen status and I had that boy's support. Sadly however, he never gave me his name so I made one up for him and yet I still don't remember. I just know that it was cute and he accepted it graciously. For now, I'll call him Sweets because it was along that line somewhere and sweet he was indeed._

_Ever since we met, he treated me to countless things normal boys couldn't afford, both mentally and physically. However, I soon found out he was old…very old. He was about 90 years old and I called him Oldy as a teaser but he still held the appearance of a teenager about 17 years old by now. I had figured for him to be like a minor god, an angel of some sort and I felt myself fall in love when in actuality, I fell in love at second sight. I didn't care if he was nearly ten times older than me. I loved him and I knew he felt the same. It was totally and utterly mutual. There was no need to exchange words when we already understood wholly. Unlike most girls though, my heart didn't race at the sight of him. It was more like we knew each other so well that our company was always appreciated. Like one night after the party at my house, there was a strange room I had never entered before. It was brownish and looked like a bathroom. Somehow I found myself undressing and sitting on one of the strange tubs with a few others that joined. Oddly, I wasn't embarrassed at my exposed skin and everyone was acting like it was just a pool party. Yet, I could feel the aura from them too; they too were higher beings from the same place as my sweets. It was probably set up so I could meet his friends eventually, and seeing that I was having a good time, he smiled warmly at the doorway still dressed._

_Then upon leaving the backside of the house, I saw my backyard for the first time as well. Part of it was constructed nicely with a lovely fountain but beyond that, it was a barren wasteland with a grizzly fence along a strange cliff. It was dark out and suddenly, a group of loud raucous boys and their coach/dad approached us. They demanded a challenge, a race to what lay beyond the fence and the cliff. I didn't realize this until later, but this may have been the start of the downfall of my beloved. The competition aroused his normally suave and cooled mind and he accepted it rather than politely hurtle the declaration back to the rude boys. Of course, in the current time, I found it to be exciting and accepted it as well. The race started and everyone ran for the fence. Most of the boys from the opposite team tried to climb the fence or dig under but it was too slow. Our team, made up of mostly girls had found an opening and we all poured through it. The cliff was dangerously high but my sweets had probably engulfed my body with protection earlier and I could literally jump off the cliff and land softly on the damp earth. To the left of the cliff was another building that looked like my house, but it was most likely just an outhouse. We won and when everyone gathered, the annoying boys cursed and just left with their trucks. I looked over to Sweets and gave him a smile that told him I had a great time and he returned it more enthusiastically this time, a slight gleam in his eyes._

_Now it never really occurred to me that if other people saw us, they would say we were going out; a couple. That was probably true too but I didn't care. So one day, he took me out on a small road trip and we talked about a few things. Somehow the topic had shifted to fur then foxes and by chance, we were approaching one on the side of the road. Sweets wanted to get me a present but I declined and told him to just let the animal be. He didn't listen and right before we passed it, he stuck his hand out and I could feel what was coming. Before I could stop him, since I can sense energy most people wouldn't be able to, I could see its form like a stream of heat waves, an image created from my mind. I was afraid and turned around with my eyes shut a little too late. I saw the wave hit part of the fox before I turned. I could hear the impact, the splatter of blood. It was horrible. I didn't want to think about what my beloved had just done. How could an innocent and kind person like him do something like that, but it was too late. He had killed._

_I looked back at him to see that he was smiling quite insanely. I was frightened at the sudden image. My usual sweets, who had been so benevolent since I met him, had suddenly changed. For the worse? To me it was pretty bad. For better? I wouldn't ever truly know, but I have my suspicions. That night, I left alone to ponder for a bit about what had happened earlier and I decided to keep quiet about it until I was sure a real change had in fact taken place. I walked to the main room and as I rounded the corner, I was shocked. He held a party, maybe a celebration for some reason but that wasn't what surprised me. It was the fact that he had his arms draped around two older girls who looked about the age of 18 or older. I knew I should have said something, but he looked happy. A little drunk, but happy. I decided to let him have some fun away from me tonight since after all, not only were we not officially going out but I felt that maybe it was because of me that he didn't enjoy life as much. I knew I was perfectly good enough to make him the happiest person alive, but my weak side allowed myself to walk away. Thus, that is why my surreal body is the opposite of my real one._

_I wandered thereafter, not knowing what to do. After a long while of walking, I passed the corner of a hill, and saw one of the strangest sights ever. Around the hill was a tiny lake and across the lake was lumpy but smooth luscious green hill with colorful rounded baubles that served as rocks. I could see Sweets in the middle laughing with women all around the area serving him like an emperor. I knew that was the last draw so I turned around and walked away. He never came to me anymore and I could feel that time was passing quickly as I walked on. I had no idea what had happened to him, but I moved on anyways, thoughts and images of him still lingering in my mind. Eventually, I stopped at a peaceful downtown area and sat in front of a café. It was a nice day and people were walking about happily. After all that wandering, I had grown a lot. I didn't know what age I was, but I knew I was around my late teens to early twenties. I took a deep breath and drew a beautiful necklace from my pocket. It wasn't fashionably stunning, but gorgeous as an image. It was a red velvety 3D heart necklace big enough to fit on my palm so that no part of it hung over the edges of my hand but still made full use of the surface area. On the left side of the heart, a glimmering emerald was embedded. On the top loop of the right side lay a mini velvet green top hat and the whole thing was connected to a green chain at the V point. I could feel the worth of its weight when I bounced it in my hand. It was a really charming specimen especially the fact that it highly resembled a strawberry._

_At some point of our time together, Sweets had given me this present to keep as a memory of him and it showed how sweet he really was. Instead of diamonds and pearls, he gave me a strange funky necklace and that was a truly unique trait. While I played with the necklace and rubbed the velvet with my thumb, a tiny boy about the age of 5 was striding past my table. I looked up and I felt the rush of power again. This boy was one of them too. After so long without coming into contact with any angelic form, I was absolutely surprised and watched him quietly. All of a sudden, a man passed my table in a rush, brushing a little wind past me. I looked up and silently gasped at the sight. It was Sweets but he looked terribly different. His hair was darker, longer, and quite shaggy. His face was unkempt and had several whiskers about. His skin wasn't as fair or smooth like it used to be and his clothes were like those of the homeless. He also looked as though he became homeless from drinking too much like countless other men. But his appearance wasn't what shocked me. It was the fact that I couldn't feel anything from him. He was powerless, just like any other human. I observed the scene closely and saw that he was actually following the boy begging him for something. Even if I couldn't hear their conversation as the little boy rejected him, I could tell why he was bothering the kid. He'd made his mistake and he wanted a second chance. I mean, who wouldn't? I just sat there after they turned the corner and thought sadly to myself. He didn't remember me. It was depressing but at the same time, I didn't know what I would do if he did recognize me._

_Still thinking about what had just happened, I looked back down at the necklace. Just a few feet in front of me, a man was talking to a person I thought to be his friend. He told his friend that he needed to find a gift for his wife for Christmas and described something very remotely close to what I held in my hands. That was when I looked around and noticed that the sky had turned grey, and everyone had on thick coats and boots. Looking down again, I stared hard at the fuzzy surface, thinking about all the memories that were woven into those tiny hairs and shining in the tiny gem. I had my moment of fun, and it was time for me to hand my happiness to someone else who probably would have made better use of it. I gestured to the man and held out the necklace for him. Right at that moment a girl ran out of the store along with her mother who I assumed was the man's family. The girl giggled and reached for the necklace when the mother noticed her rude behavior, but I only smiled and let the necklace slip into her eager outstretched fingers. In addition to that, I pulled off my favorite beanie which had appeared on my head from out of nowhere and put it on the girl. She smiled brightly up at me and suddenly, time froze in place and everything faded._

**-End Chapter 6-**

------------------------------

**A/N: **So sorry it's uber late! To tell the truth, I bs-ed this chapter XD. And since it's so late, I don't want to bother sending it to my "editor." He's going to be so pissed when he sees that I posted without first emailing it to him. I mean, is my grammar THAT bad? I hate waiting to update when I know my chapter is done. Anyways, I know this chapter is very confusing but things will unfold in the future! If you have mad English/Language Arts teachers, I'm sure you guys have learned how to read foreshadowing, ya? I've left a LOT of those since the first word since I started this story. If you reread it later, you'll figure it out (-smiles-). Now about that dream Rosette has. The truth about that is…it's really my dream. To start with, I actually planned to add this as a temporary extra "clip" that I would edit out when the next chapter was released. In reality, I haven't experienced any form of infatuation or that crap since 8th grade but when I dreamt this, I really felt attached. So when I was writing my chapter, it was short and I felt bad because I took awhile to update and just now, I reread over my dream (I actually remembered nearly all the details o.o) and found that it fits into my story nearly perfectly. Dreams are indeed my source of pure inspiration :3 and I'm sure you can see why. So read the dream carefully if you like slight foreshadowing and please R+R! Enjoy! (-hugs-)


	7. History of Time

**A/N:** Hello again! I'm so behind on schedule but since when have I ever followed one? I'll try to keep this note short so it won't merge with my story xD. About the last chapter, I know everything I wrote is very confusing. Shows what kind of person I am, but you'll all understand with due time. I promise! OMG before I forget. I didn't realize Kate wasn't her last name (-bops herself-). You guys should have told me sooner. Ms. Kate is now Ms. Valentine. Gosh, I'm so silly -.-

**Snekoochan:** (-gasps-) You're not supposed to guess the ending (-jabs her sides-) rawr xD. But yea, I've been thinking. I might tweak this a lot more than I hoped. I literally got a vision last night and it was such a beautiful ending (to me) so you never know! Who (with exceptions) doesn't hate sad endings huh?

**Note:** I'm not great with writing about history or even making it up, so please bear with me :) and THIS CHAPTER IS SHORT. It's another bridge. Don't know what that is? Then now would be a good time to reread the middle part of chapter 4's a/n where it mentions it. Since I hate these types of chapters so much, I'll warn you ahead of time if it's a bridge .

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CC or the reference to a book that I used.

------------------------------

**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 7:** History of Time

"CHRONOOOOOO! What did you do to me!" Rosette shrieked, clutching the door of her locker.

"What are you talking about," he frowned walking up to her. She pointed an accusing finger at him.

"What else! Yesterday when I woke up, my clothes were all messed up and you were gone! Did you RAPE me?" She was hysterical to the point that people stared at the scene.

"Why would I want to rape you?" He cast her an amused smirk. Her vein exploded and she slid her feet further apart into a defensive stance. Then she raised a fist and…played rock, paper, scissors with herself.

_Rock, paper, scissors. ROCK!_

She squeezed her fist tighter and swung at his groin. Chrono, who barely had time to think, dodged it but his stomach received the full blow. He doubled over as Rosette ran off screaming "PERVERT"

------------------------------

"Is it me or did the teachers all agree to hold SSR in the same week?" Rosette grumbled. Chrono laughed, causing a few girls to glare at Rosette. She scowled at him. "I wasn't talking to YOU was I?" He kept his mouth shut, knowing the result of attempted protests. Shortly after, the class was hushed and everyone was reading and surprisingly, even Rosette. She giggled quietly so that no one heard except Chrono who was not only next to her, but had acute hearing. He looked over at her curiously to see her buried in a plainly covered book. She snickered again. _If she's laughing like that, it can't be good._ He sweat a little at the thought.

The rest of the period went by silently save for Rosette's constant sniggering. He shook his head in annoyance. _What the heck is she reading? Has to be something interesting for her to even read_. He mentally burned holes through his book. Yet again, she let loose an evil little giggle. By now, Chrono wanted to bang his head against something. People who laughed like that while reading were clearly not reading something appropriate and her continuous outbursts had him terribly curious. He peeked at her again but she was hidden by the covers. Raising his book slightly, he bit it the corner uneasily but stopped and put it down. What the heck was he doing? He could just ask her about it after class. No biggy. Except for the fact that she thought he raped her. He closed his eyes and relaxed in his seat. He'd find a way to turn the invisible force she sent his way back at her. It was so simple. She was purposely getting him worked up to her liking. He couldn't believe he was letting her drag him at her pace just because of some stupid comment. He smirked when the bell rang. He turned to address the matter about the book first.

"Hey Ro-," He stared at her empty seat. "-sette…" He cursed silently and packed his things away. As he got off his seat, he noticed a book lying on her desk, the same one that she was reading earlier. _So she forgot it._ Chrono grinned and picked it up. He casually slid the brown book cover off and read the title. The Bad Girl's Guide to Getting What You Want. _Bad girl's guide? Getting what…?_ He quickly flipped through the pages and found out why she was giggling. His cheeks reddened with embarrassment at what he was reading. The blush burned even more every time he flipped through another section. Suddenly, a part caught his eye.

**Roshambo! Gotta Go!** Think rock, paper, scissors …and run for it!

_Rock_ (fist to the ear or groin, hard!)

_Paper_ (karate chop to the throat, hard!)

_Scissors _(fingers poked in the eyes, hard!)

"…" He sweatdropped, all thoughts of manipulation gone from his brain.

------------------------------

Next day…

"Hey Chrono, you there?" Rosette waved a hand in front of his face. "What's wrong?" Chrono just stood there speechless. This girl was an idiot. An impulsive idiot. That's all there was to it. He let her drag him from class to class, even to the girl's bathroom (not inside!).

But it was possible that this was all an act. Regaining his senses, he walked off to his next class forgetting that he left Rosette inside. A few minutes later, she came out adjusting her pants. She huffed at his disappearance and muttered something along the line of "How rude."

It seemed that the both of them had forgotten the ending to their previous bonding lunch.

------------------------------

"…and Hera did not reign as the Queen of the Olympians just because she was the wife of Zeus, but because her role goes further back than that of his. When it was discovered that females gave birth, the fact that birth meant to give life like Mother Earth was considered to be very powerful. Which reminds me," Mrs. Mikel droned on. "One time, somebody told me the story of mysterious events that secretly shook the world."

_There she goes again_. Rosette rested her head on palm and looked out the window. Thank god she had other things to enjoy rather than the sight of her bookish Language Arts teacher. Boring teachers were even worse than Ms. Kate's wrath.

"It's a legend were it was said that Time waits for no one nor is it considered good or evil. It flowed through the world like a plague and people were cured of their pains while others suffered. People then began to think of it as a god, doing as it wishes and nothing to stop it, but god was too high of a term. One day, it fell in love with a woman and began to take shape. It gave the woman much fortune but he could not stay with her for a few years later, she died. It was then that it, or should I say he for attracting to a woman, discovered that he was used by her. Apparently, this woman was the Queen of Deceit and was to die sooner than she did. From then on, Time was bent on revenge and began to grow within darkness. Now it was known that there were other queens to be born in succession to the hidden throne: pain, sorrow, hatred, destruction, and many more. But all of them did not start off that way. In actuality, they were really the opposite until time passed and they grew ugly and spiteful. Already experiencing the deception of the first queen, Time decided to take its toll on the rest of them, using them and their supernatural powers before their nature flipped. When that happened, he would kill them off. As of now, people say he murdered nine so far before the killings stopped."

_Boring…_Rosette yawned and laid her head down. That woman really needed a reality check. Mysterious "evil" queens may have existed, but not ones with magic tricks. She snuggled her face into the burrow between her arms and breathed in the fresh scent of her recently laundered jacket.

"Strangely, I think nine is an odd number metaphorically. Maybe there really were only nine queens or the next one has not yet been born," Mrs. Mikel pondered.

_Are you ready?_ Rosette shifted and frowned in her sleep. Ready? Ready for what?

"That just you ma'am," jeered a student. Mikel huffed and pushed her glasses up her nose roughly.

"Well it's not just me. It seems that its history is incomplete though. People don't know more than the fact that queens were killed right before they turned to darkness.

_It is time..._

"It's just some silly myth," another student broke in, "If they really were royalty, why didn't we know about them. And what about the _kings_ huh?" Bifocals flashing, the teacher grinned knowingly.

"Since you guys aren't interested, why should I tell you?" she taunted.

"But-," they protested. Ringggg. The bell rang.

"That's just too bad then," she shrugged heartlessly. "For tonight's homework, please take notes on each god and goddess and remember to write what their roles of significance were." Snoring slightly, Rosette was glued to her seat still frowning. As the students filed out of the classroom, a figure loomed over her for a moment before shaking her.

_Your time has come…_

"Rosette!" Chrono sighed exasperatedly. "Wake up!" Her eyes snapped open and her nose was once again filled with the floral scent. She looked up and stared at the person who tried to wake her.

"Ah, Chrono! What are you doing here?" She stared in surprise.

"I didn't know we had the same language arts teacher," he smiled nervously. She studied his face for a few seconds. Her eyes went out of focus as she tried to remember what she just dreamed. _My what has what…?_ "You should really get going now. The minute bell just rang." Her eyes widened.

"Crap!" She grabbed her notebook and jammed it into her backpack and rushed out the door. "Thanks Chrono!" He waved at her back and turned around to get to his seat.

"Chrono!" Mrs. Mikel chirped happily at the sight of him. Since he was the only one that didn't ever object to what she taught in class, he was obviously her favorite student. "I have a treat for you today," she informed as her next class walked in. "It's another interesting legend," she winked.

**-End Chapter 7-**

------------------------------

**A/N:** Yes, it is very short. I wanted to get at least 2000 words per chapter (including a/n's). Maybe I should keep rambling now just to reach that much ; So since it was so short, I wholeheartedly accept all flames, praises, and improvement tips. I think you guys can tell where I got lazy to type out all the details. But by this chapter, hopefully you should know that already. I really should have planned out the main points more evenly spaced out because we're about to hit some major waves of "fillers" and other jiggily poopy stuff, but it's all good (I think). OH I KNOW! Why didn't I think about it earlier! I meant to add another Golden moment (renamed as GMom by yours truly. Sounds like "Gee Mom –insert complaint here-" o.O Just so you know, GM refers to Golden Mirage) last chapter but the dream got in the way. Finally, here we go :).

**-Golden Moment#2-**

Joshua opened his locker and dropped in his math book. He closed it and saw Aion and his group of friends walking in his direction. They never talked after the week they were paired to travel through school together. Suddenly, he slammed the locker shut and blocked his way.

"YOU! AION!" he yelled pointing at him. Aion, taken aback by the unexpected action just stopped in his tracks and raised a questioning eyebrow at the blond boy. Joshua just held a determined gaze but appeared to be thinking about why he just did that. Then, his eyes reverted back in place as he remembered and made up his mind.

"What?" Aion drawled looking down at him. The others either looked expectant or bored but they waited impatiently nevertheless.

"…AION YOU!" And with that, Joshua ran off cackling insanely. Aion stared. Sheda gasped. Genai smacked his forehead. The rest stayed silent, but they all shared the same thought.

_What an idiot!_

**-End GMom#2- **

**Note: **In case you didn't get the joke…bless your soul and please add it to your review or pm me -.- Yay made it to 2000 words! Oh yea, **R+R** please and thank you very much :D


	8. Where They Met

**A/N:** I disappoint myself. I've managed to create a story where no one seems to understand a thing. I mean it's understandable that there are things you aren't supposed to know yet but I was hoping my point and hints would go through. Guess I shouldn't assume so much or maybe I should make it less mysterious and more detailed in explanation . Anyways, I'm kind of releasing this prematurely since I was hoping to update only after I got an average of 5 reviews per chapter. It's not asking for much since I have at least an average of 100 views per chapter. Where are you guys! Is it the same person re-clicking my page to make me feel better? (-cries-) Then again, that itself is pretty cool o.o Thanks to all for secretly reading it (and not reviewing!).

**Recap/Explanation: **Ok let me verify some things. In the last chapter, Rosette is overreacting as usual. I just made it relaxed by adding a little fun with Rosette and the internal battle Chrono has with himself. What I'm trying to show is that Chrono comes to suspect that Rosette is using him (which is actually true but not in the way he expected) but when he discovers that her actions were not based on what he imagined, he goes out of it thinking that she's just some weird numbskull. And being the airhead that she is, Rosette even forgot her accusations on Chrono for doing things to her while she was sleeping (which he really wasn't). Then, it cuts into the middle of Rosette's L.A. class (it's not called English where I live) and her teacher is talking about mythology when she decides to tell the class about a myth that someone had told her. It was about a presence, Time (literally the time ticking away right now), that was personified (meaning it was viewed as having human characteristics. Example: Mother Earth). If you read, or even skimmed the myth, you should understand what had happened, but it turns out that the myth was incomplete. It is unknown as to what happened after everything just died down. During the storytelling, Rosette is snoozing in class. She doesn't really dream but hears voices and becomes utterly confused about it. Just as the voices seems to come "closer", Chrono wakes her up and tells her to go to class when the teacher tells him she has another myth that may interest him. Now about the confusion with the myth, your clue: Chrono is Greek for . Now take that (one word) definition and go back to chapter 6 and find ALL of the words in the myth that have that definition and replace it with "Chrono". If the answer STILL doesn't get to you (-smacks herself- I gave a spoiler T-T), try referring back to the prologue: scene 1 and hopefully you will understand by then. If my story is always this confusing, please pm/review that you want a explanation for that particular chapter that you reviewed on and I will add it to the next chapter (like I did this one). That was long…(-sweatdrops-)

**Note:** And also as a mental note for you AND me…since my characters are so two-faced in a way, I keep forgetting which personality is really theirs. Sooo…before I start the chapter:

**Rosette:** Temperamental, bipolar, a little slow in the mind, uses people but actually really cares about them.

**Chrono:** Assumes too much, takes advantage of people, thinks he's capable when he's not, secretly cares like Rosette, nonchalant but really becomes shy and quiet when he realizes the situation fully.

**Joshua: **Zealous, hyper, understands Rosette best (for now ;P), develops a sister complex (later), can become casually serious when alone with Rosette (and Chrono).

**Everyone else so far: **They're not important right now!

**Disclaimer: **Too tired…

------------------------------

**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 8:** Where They Met

Rosette racked her brain for answers. To what? She had absolutely no idea. Ever since the night of that weird dream, she'd been seeing things and hearing voices every time she drifted off to "LaLa-land". She sighed and wormed her way slowly out from under her sheets. Another day…another _lucky_ day at that too. She tilted her head upwards and stared at her trusty ceiling clock: 6:50 am. She really didn't want to go to school now knowing that she'd woken early again. She rolled over the side of her bed and rubbed her face exhaustedly into her comforter. The sheets smelled fresh. Joshua must've changed her bedding as well, she thought. Ugh, if she didn't pull her face off the covers soon, she was going to…

"Roseeeette! Wakey wakey!" Joshua bounded into the room and squashed her head further into the comforter with a pillow. "You're going to be late," he sang. The blonde girl freaked out and threw his weight off her head. She flipped around again and glanced at the clock: 6:57 am. He scurried from the room as fast as he had come.

"Joshua-aa!"

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"C'mon, hurry up." Rosette tugged at her brother who stumbled to keep up. "There's a really nice spot that someone showed me the other day." She finally stopped in front of a large tree with its tremendous roots sticking out of the ground. A slight gust of wind swept through the field releasing luminous violet locks from behind the base of the tree. The figure behind the trunk turned around and Rosette pulled even harder at Joshua's arm. Chrono looked curiously at the other blonde recalling his face from back in the dean's office. Breathing harder than normal, Rosette grinned to both of them before starting introductions. "Joshua, this is Chrono. Chrono, my little brother Joshua. I'm sure you guys met awhile ago." She sat them both down against the tree before planting herself comfortably between them. She pulled out her lunch and emptied its contents pouting.

"Something wrong?" Joshua peeked over at her lap.

"Your forgot my tangerines again." He blinked at the portions and gasped dramatically. She threw him a light noogie as punishment. "Not funny. I like those for lunch you know, since the orange juice at school sucks." Joshua chuckled and smiled kindly. He reached into his lunch bag and pulled out his tangerine.

"Sorry sis, you can have mine." She shook her head and pushed it back.

"Nuh uh, I'm not taking yours," she said firmly.

"Take it."

"No."

"Fine, half-half."

"Deal." They grinned flippantly at each other. Rosette took the ripe orange ball and peeled it clumsily while Joshua sniggered at her handiwork. She gave him an annoyed look and shot her hand out to ground the peels onto his cheek. During all of this, Chrono sat silently watching the siblings having fun over a simple fruit from the corner of his eyes. For some reason, he looked down into his lap hoping for something to be there but found it to be bare. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed silently. He didn't want to admit it but whatever they were doing, it looked fun, even enjoyable at his standards. He realized he felt cold and lonely. His chest felt blocked off by a hard wall of bitter ice. Even if he did have friends, their time together was never really so warm and simple. For them, it was all serious business or a matter that required his help. It was nothing more. He opened his eyes and looked up at the towering branches swaying with every curve of the wind. Did he only exist to just be? He was unsure as to why he was even sitting here with them, if this was even considered "with."

All of a sudden, he felt something cool placed on his leg. Surprised, he looked down at a clump of orange slices. He turned to Rosette's bold yet innocent grin and frowned. He held up the clump towards her.

"It's ok, I don't need them." She pushed them back still smiling widely.

"It's for you silly. Just take it. Not a big deal," she insisted and turned back to Joshua fussing about his unruly hair. Chrono gazed at the oranges in his hand and glancing at both of their laps, he caught a glimpse of the rest of the tangerine. Among the few slices on Rosette's lap was an oddball one that appeared deformed and it was a wonder how it even managed to fit in with the other slices to make a perfectly round tangerine. He watched intently as she picked it up and fingered it tenderly. And unlike all her other pieces, instead of biting into them, she slipped the whole thing between her lips. Interestingly, it made his stomach flip to see her different way of eating the abnormal wedge. Catching him in the act of staring, she looked at him questioningly.

"Want more?" she asked, then noticed his untouched pieces. "Or you don't want them?" Her voice held a small whimper. Chrono quickly shook his head and immediately took picked up a slice. In his haste to take a bite to appease the expectant girl, the piece retaliated with a squirt of citric acid. Yelping from the assault on his eye, he winced and rubbed his closed eyelids. He began to tear when he felt warm hands move his aside. He squeezed his eyes shut as another wave of pain bit at his eyes. A pair of damp lips planted themselves on his lid and he felt the pain simmer down. He opened his eyes as they pulled away and saw her smiling crescent eyes fixed on his. The sun blocked by her head caused her sapphire eyes to glow more vividly than usual. He was utterly speechless and felt his jaw drop somewhat.

"You okay?" Rosette asked. _What's wrong with him?_ _Was he usually this spaced out?_ Before her head could fill with more questions, Joshua popped over to Chrono's side.

"Hey hey, I heard you're really popular with girls. Is that right?" he nudge the silent boy. Rosette threw him a dirty look and bopped him. "Ow! I'm serious! All I hear the girls talk about is some purple-haired hottie," he sniggered.

"Oh really," she snapped back, hands on her hips, "and I suppose you hear them saying you're quite a looker yourself?"

"Actually yes," he bubbled enthusiastically, "but I'd rather get lessons from a _real_ model." She whacked him again.

"Are you saying I'm not pretty enough to give you tips!"

"Try saying that as a _man_. I can't take girly tips all my life you know." He stuck his out tongue only to have it snatched and yanked further than it could stretch. "Ahh! Leh-o leh ohh! (let go)" Rosette released the muscle, swimming in satisfaction at the justice. Watching the two for some time, Chrono couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a suppressed snort. Realizing what he was just about to do, he slapped his hand over his mouth hoping they hadn't heard. Joshua instantly edged towards him and poked his sides.

"What do you think of Rosette then Chrono? A keeper, or a loser?" Not expecting that type of question, Chrono twitched and backed away a bit. Joshua responded by scooting closer. "Well? What do you think of her?" Upon hearing her name, Rosette turned to hear the answer.

"Um…she…I-I think she l-looks…," Chrono flushed a bright red. His opinion on these types of things didn't matter before. Now that he thought about it, it was hard to say. "S-she looks really…" Whack!

"Not you too! Look at what you're doing to him Joshua." Rosette held the Joshua's lunch bag loosely in one hand, the contents seemingly appeared to be something large and hard. She voiced her disapproval and pulled Chrono up gently. "I don't need another YOU to deal with," she sighed exasperatedly. Joshua only grinned at the comment.

"But you LOVE me."

"…Not for long."

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"For your project-" Mr. Jaquot started.

"What project!" Rosette blurted. The whole class broke into laughter. She blushed at her own outburst and bowed her head.

"Rosette, if you managed to stay awake at least 'alf ze time, you would've 'eard me announce zat dere would be an in-class molecular project today. Either zat or you slept ze wrong 'alf of ze period," her eccentric chemistry teacher replied calmly, his French accent audibly poking through. She wordlessly thanked god for having so many lenient teachers this year, otherwise her school record would be worse than a criminal's in the form of paying attention in class. "As I was saying, you will 'ave zis class period to work with your partner, the person next to you, and figure out ze formulas and such. Then you will build ze model at 'ome or your partner's 'ouse. Either will work as long as it's done by tomorrow. You may begin now," he concluded, sitting down at his desk.

"So your house or mine?" Rosette asked, turning to Chrono.

"…" He didn't know what to say. He couldn't insist that they go to her house even though his wasn't exactly within human comfort zone or what he thought suitable for anyone but him and his friends. Rosette looked inquisitively at him waiting for an answer.

"If your house is THAT messy, I guess we'll go to mine," she decided. Lowering her voice, she muttered darkly, "I just hope Joshua doesn't do anything weird." Chrono breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed her the paper and a pen. "You do the equations and I'll build it. I don't get this stuff anyways," she shrugged.

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After stopping by an art crafts store for Styrofoam balls and paint, Joshua (because Rosette is too reckless) drove them back to their place. As they got out of the car, Rosette stopped in front of the driver's door.

"Joshua, I just realized…"

"What?" he asked.

"…you're underage." He smacked his forehead exasperated.

"How long did it take you to figure that out?"

"I was thinking about it, but I never really actually thought about it," she mused.

"You know you just said the same thing," he stated flatly.

"So? Wait, I'm only 15…and that means…" Chrono could only stare in disbelief at just how dense she was. It dawned on her. "Shit."

"Whatever sis, we look old enough. If only your attention span on the road wasn't so limited, we wouldn't have to worry about tickets." He waved the matter aside and unlocked the front door. Rosette followed glaring holes into the back of his head. _Jeez, he changed again! One second, he's all clingy and hyper. Next, he's acting like a cold smart-ass._ She sulked. She knew very well for a long time that they were young and obviously underage but never bothered to address the matter. She watched her brother set the bag of supplies on the kitchen counter. _I guess we're both alike in that way,_ she thought painfully. She stood there for awhile when a memory came to her. _Mom…I'll protect him…_

Shaking her head out of depression, she looked at Chrono. His reaction was not what she expected. He was looking around at everything in awe.

"Rosette, your house is so…_bright_." She burst out laughing.

"Never seen one like this before I assume?" she teased.

"I have but…I didn't think they actually existed," he said, observing all the while.

"Well then, welcome to the Christophers' one and only home! You're always welcome to stop by for a sleepover or even random parties!" she grinned. He stared at her.

"What about your parents?"

Both Rosette and Joshua froze. The once cheerful room turned icy cold, a coat of dead silence dawning on them. Chrono suddenly wished he hadn't said anything at all. What was worse than his sins was if he made someone else feel terrible and even he understood the feeling of unwanted surfaced memories. Joshua was the first to move.

"They're dead."

Rosette dropped her backpack and turned to Chrono smiling. "They've been gone for a long time now. We're used to living with each other." He felt his heart drop and break through the floorboards. Her eyes were filled with pain and sadness but she continued smiling. It was because of him. It was his fault for bringing it up. _It's all because of me_…

"Let my tidy my room up before you see it," she said and ran upstairs, hair covering her expression. Joshua sighed.

"Don't worry about it," he said finally. "I heard that our mom died in a car accident when I was too young to understand. Our dad…left us before we could even walk, so he's considered dead to us anyways. But Rosette, being only 1 year older, remembers Mom really well. Since I didn't really know her, I can't feel the same thing she does about her but being parentless kind of hurts, you know?"

Of course he didn't. How could losing something be so painful if he never had any to lose at all? He clenched his fists so hard that his nails nearly punctured his skin. Rosette poked her head over the banister and signaled for him to follow.

"I'm done Chrono. You can come up now." She disappeared again. Chrono managed to see her face again but it was smiling. Why did she smile so much? Wasn't it painful? He, on the other hand, had nothing to lose. Even if his best friend and brother, Aion died, it wasn't the same. Aion just seemed to be a comrade, and him an accomplice.

Walking back up to her room, Rosette sighed audibly and pinched her cheek. She couldn't let emotional issues control her life forever. About ten years had passed and she moved on already. A lurch of happiness rolled back through her stomach and she plopped herself on her bed. She heard Chrono's footsteps approaching with the noisy crinkling of a grocery bag and sat up.

"Ok, I know it's still a little messy but you'll have to deal with it," she said, "I've never had boys in my room before other than Joshua so don't do anything weird k?"

_So this was like a virgin room?_ Chrono thought. He blushed at thinking of it that way and turned away hastily. Rosette looked at him strangely thinking that the room did not suit his tastes.

"We can work downstairs if you don't like it here…," she said, her voice unsure.

"NO!" he yelled back automatically. Rosette jumped in alarm and Chrono, who was sweating by now, recovered quickly. "Er, I-I mean no, this is fine," he stammered.

"Alright then," she finalized, clapping her hands together smiling, "shall we begin?"

"Whenever you're ready." Chrono grinned. She really knew how to lighten up the mood. He set down the bag and emptied its contents.

**(5 minutes later…)**

"No, that won't work," Chrono objected.

"It HAS to. It says right here in the formula that carbon goes here." She pointed to the paper upon which Chrono had written then equations. "That's unless you wrote it wrong." She glared at him.

"Ah sorry sorry, I don't think it's wrong. Maybe you're reading it incorrectly. Look, nitrogen goes on top, not on the left."

"Oh," she laughed nervously, "my bad."

**(30 minutes later…)**

"Hey! Don't spill the paint on my carpet," Rosette scolded.

"Oops, sorry," Chrono apologized. He grabbed a paper towel and placed it under his work spot. Rosette reached over to get a hold of the model when…"Rosette! You broke it again!"

"What the hell!" She cursed, holding the top part of the model with the bottom part in pieces. "Stupid project!" Slamming down her hand in frustration, she hadn't noticed the paint bottle beneath her fist and perked up, hearing a squeal from Chrono. "Ah! Chrono, I'm sorry!" She looked at him in horror with his head bent over, his bangs dripping dark maroon. From a crack in the doorway, Joshua watched them contentedly and gave a little laugh before he walked off to do his own business. Pulling Chrono off the floor, Rosette hustled him into the bathroom making sure he didn't run headlong into the walls. That would be interesting, she thought, deep red head-sized splotches lining the wall towards her bathroom. Once inside, she had him bend over the sink but it just wasn't working. The faucet was too low and Chrono had way too much hair. After that, she tried moving him to the tub and running water on him. Yet another failure, the faucet was too far and awkward to reach, the showerhead wasn't movable and too high meaning her bathroom would be soaked, and he couldn't bathe himself either because without her help, he wouldn't be able to get all the paint out. She tried to think quickly about what to do, knowing that the paint would permanently stain his (oh-so-lusciously-gorgeous) hair. Then it came to her. She didn't want it to come to this but she had to.

"Chrono, strip."

"WHAT!" he yelled, flipping his head up on accident and splattering the mirrors with lovely splotches.

"Just do it!" She waited but received no reaction. "…or I will," she added menacingly. Chrono gulped and took a step back. Rosette cracked her knuckles and slowly took a step forward. "Don't make this hard for me," she said monotonously and jumped him.

**(Downstairs)**

Joshua stood by the sink cutting cucumbers when an ear-splitting yowl echoed down the staircase. He paused and looked up. Shaking his head, he sighed and went back to chopping the vegetable.

"Ow…" He stared down wearily at his bleeding finger.

**(Upstairs)**

This was so embarrassing, thought Chrono. Rosette had run off somewhere leaving him feverishly red and shivering in the tub with just his boxers on. He heard rapid thuds on the wooden floor and sooner than later, Rosette burst into the bathroom again wearing a simple yet quite revealing bathing suit and brandishing a large puffy sponge in one hand, brush in the other. His throat gurgled in extreme discomfort. When he agreed to come over to her house instead of his to do the project, he didn't bargain to _bathe_ with her. Rosette on the other hand was entirely unfazed by the whole ordeal. She actually looked thrilled, to his dismay. When she stepped into the tub, he scuttled to the far side, allowing the faucet to jab painfully into his side. She ignored his shy movements and reached over him to turn on the water. Now cornered, Chrono was now burning up so badly, his temperature threatened to knock him out cold.

Rosette was totally oblivious to the effect she had on Chrono currently. She just sighed in relief and turned the water off before lowering her bottom into the water. Turning to Chrono, she motioned him to come closer. When he didn't respond, she reached over and pulled him by the ears to the spot in front of her. She was leaning against one end of the tub with her legs spread apart so it was easier to keep a steady footing in the water. After she managed to pull Chrono closer, she turned him around and had him lay on his back so that his hair would fan out in the water. She fingered a few strands lovingly, thinking about why her own felt so coarse.

"Chrono…," she whispered, rubbing an even amount of shampoo through his root strands, "you have really nice hair, you know that?" Chrono had relaxed tremendously when Rosette had flipped him. His head now lay in her lap where she was rubbing his scalp soothingly. He closed his eyes and a content purr rumbled deep in his throat, although unheard by anyone else. He had almost forgotten why he was in the tub when he felt the gentle movement on his head stop. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Rosette staring vacantly into space. He wondered what fleeting thought she had that was powerful enough to stop her from brushing through his hair.

She absentmindedly began stroking his hair again, rubbing all the extra paint clinging to his hair. Rosette hadn't planned on having the memories pour back into her mind. Personally, she didn't want to remember, dream or not. In a way, it was oddly familiar but Chrono was nothing close to being that thing she tried to harbor though he was pretty bizarre himself. She looked down and gasped quietly. The paint resembled blood. Scenes of that night flashed through her mind. The blood dripping off her fingers like the paint did right then.

As if feeling her shock, Chrono went through his own relapse of memories as well. His eyes glazed over in remembrance from that night of the attack. This was where they first met.

**-End Chapter 8-**

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**A/N: **(-sighs-) I know I know. You can laugh at my poor attempt to make a nice cliffy but it felt somewhat dramatic so I had to do it. In actuality, this chapter was supposed to be split in 2 and was supposed to have moved forward much faster but I'm learning to pace! Ok just to let you guys know, I tried to make this chapter somewhat long enough to last you guys a wee bit since on Friday, I have my first AP exam and seating auditions. Also, I'm going to homecoming on Saturday so the end of my week is pretty packed. I won't have time to brainstorm until Sunday so please be patient! Sorry if the chapter sucked a bit. I've been writing at 1-3am on a bare minimum of sleep so I'm like a typing zombie x.x. I'll just finish up here. Updates on what I'm doing currently are always posted nearly everyday on my profile so if you feel the need, drop on by. So, **R+R** please! I beg of you? XD I was hoping to get 35 reviews before I posted this but I guess I can expect too much and I needed to post this before I disappeared for the rest of the week. Anyways, I'll be an annoying broken record now. **READ AND REVIEW PLEASE **:D Love you all and have a nice day

**P.S. – **Sorry for the super long intro a/n.


	9. The Insignia

**A/N:** AH LATE CHAPTER! O.o Forgive me you guys. I suddenly got a vision for 2 more fictions but I forbid myself to even type one word of it until I'm within 5 chapters of finishing this story xx. Anyways, let me get some things off my mind first. First I was totally busy, then I went through a gaming phase, then I pissed off my mom, etc. There. My excuses. **Edit:** I'm addicted to games again…

**Snekochan**: I forgot to mention this in my review for chapter 41. Ymx+b is the equation of a line XD (what a nerd! –points at herself-) Knowledge like this comes from being exposed to Algebra since 6th grade and being stuck in Algebra 2 three times (2 years) of your life. No seriously though, I took it in 9th grade, summer school, AND 10th grade. I should be in calculus right now but noooo…horrible huh? **Edit:** Due to my slowness, by the time I post this chapter, I read that some other reviewer beat me to it -.-;;

**Me-la Kenzu Chan:** Thank you very much for your lovely reviews. You've encouraged me to "try" and write better knowing I have another reader at bay :)

**Note:** THIS CHAPTER IS SHORT (meaning not even 1/3 of my usual chapters)! Why? Because I was so preoccupied that I was slow to update. Thus, I want to get it to you guys asap. Normally it's the other version where the author takes so long to update. So to compensate they produce a long ass chapter to appease the readers, but I'm not an author. I'm an authorESS. (-pouts-)

**Disclaimer:** I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts…

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**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 9:** The Insignia

Water dripped monotonously, each drop echoing hauntingly against the gleaming white tile on the wall. All movement came to a close as Rosette's hand slowly stopped at the crown of Chrono's gloriously rich mane. Her other hand rose from the imperturbable surface of the water. Volleys of deep set claret streamed from the palm of her hand, or so she thought. Sharp pressure pushed down on her left thigh jerking her out of her hallucination. Turning away from her hand, she found that Chrono was attempting to sit up, feeling that she was done cleaning him because of her gradual lack of strokes. He twisted his head to look to her for instructions when he saw her gaping eyes. She was perspiring considerably or perhaps it was his imagination and perceived it really as water.

"Rosette?" he whispered, fearing her reaction. She blinked at him, liveliness washed back into her eyes. Lately her eyes had gone out of focus more times than she slept in class and this occurrence was no exception either. She looked back at her palm and scrunched her nose in frustration at the sight of the merely watered down paint. 'Strange' was all she could think of and strange it was indeed.

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"Kukuku. How interesting," Joshua sniggered impishly.

"I-It's not what you think!" Rosette stammered. It was early morning and the usual sunup mischief was in action. On the floor near the finished molecule project, Rosette sat up quickly into a sitting position. On the other hand, Chrono was dead asleep sprawled across her stomach. As she moved, his body rolled halfway down her legs. He groaned sleepily, his voice cracking slightly like a boy during his period of puberty. This only fueled Joshua's laughter at his supposedly girl-getting role model. It was no wonder they fell for him. What idiot's heart wouldn't melt at the sight he so nakedly revealed to them right now? So it was concluded that under every tough shell was an adorable youngster that wanted to come out and play. Her demeanor calmed when she saw his baby angel face.

"Ooh," Joshua cooed dangerously upon seeing her reaction, "you have a _crush_ on him don't you?

"Joshua! Get out!" Rosette bellowed squeamishly. She was about ready to grab the nearest object (mainly the project and Chrono) when Joshua stepped up and shoved a warm moist towel in her face.

"You might wanna hurry," he laughed, "You're going to be late again."

She grabbed the towel off her face and stared at what her little brother was doing. He was leaning over the model with a knife, carving two stick figures holding hands into the Styrofoam.

"What are you-"

"Look," he pointed, "It's us. We'll be together forever right?"

He beamed childishly at her before casting a quick glance at Chrono. Rosette opened her mouth to retort but stopped and though it over. _He's being serious again…and I thought I was moody_. She returned the gesture with her own smile.

"Of course."

Then, shooting her hand out at light speed, she tweaked his nose with the wet towel in hand.

"Now get him off me…" she growled menacingly.

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Rosette strode down the hallway with an extra burst of exuberance despite her usual morning grogginess.

"Chronoooo! I'm nervous!" she squeaked, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking his brains about. "What am I supposed to say?" She pinched his cheeks and pulled dramatically. Chrono, who already had a bad start to the day, was not in the mood for more torture. He whined as she pulled him through the 200 building doors by the cheek, a replacement for the ear-grabbing mothers gave to disobedient children.

"R-Ro-shette-" He now looked terribly miserable like a puppy pulled on a leash against its will. "I shed um showwy!"

"What EVER are you talking about hm?" She was now clenching his sore soft spot with her entire hand. Reeling him in so that their faces were inches apart, she sent mixtures of extreme temperatures through his body. "Look here. We may be friends and that may have been a project get-together, but don't you dare slee-" She stopped and blushed at the sudden remembrance of the position Joshua had caught them in that morning. "You're such a nuisance!" she spat.

Chrono winced. Her voice was especially toxic today. _Don't piss her off, don't piss her off…_Too late, it seemed.

"TODAY, for lunch, I order you to get me the extra cheesy special Calzone and deluxe breadsticks WITH the champagne sauce. Got that?" She pointed radically at his puffy cheek.

"WHAT!"

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"Ok class. Settle down. Now, I 'ope you're all prepared for ze presentations, yes?"

"No." Derek blatantly gave Jaquot a bored look but the patient old man just gazed back at him with comprehension.

"I know zat you are _very_ excited about zis Derek but you don't 'ave to wet your pants over it." Mr. Jaquot grinned as the class snickered. "Alrighty, I want Cecil and Tally up first. Do you ladies 'ave everything ready?"

"Yes," they chorused

"Good, now anytime you're ready." With that, he sat down at his desk and watched intently, unlike the rest of the class. Chrono particularly, was not paying attention at all. There was a malleable humming in the air like bees in a meadow. It was steady and relaxing, lulling him closer to wonderland, a place of unconsciousness. Next to him, Rosette was staring blankly into space unblinking. The humming grew louder as the minutes ticked by. Students after students passed by his seat to the front of the room to present and as each one passed, the buzzing only tickled his ear even more. He shook his head gently in attempt to rid his head of the pest and alas, the sound stopped completely.

"Rosette and Chrono, you're up next please."

"Already?" Rosette griped, "I was hoping we'd go tomorrow…"

"Not a chance," the teacher smiled. _God damn he smiles too much_, Rosette thought annoyed.

"Come on, just get it over with," Chrono sneered at her.

Without another word, Rosette trudged through the aisle of backpacks. _Strange…_, she thought, _what's with this buzzing?_ Unknown to her, Chrono was suffering the same irritation in his own head as well. Rubbing the side of her face just in front of her ear didn't even assist in subsiding the noise. _What the hell is this? Stupid ears._ She looked up to find that the entire class was waiting "expectantly" for her speech. Chrono, sensing that something was wrong, nudged her lightly on the ribs. She didn't know what to say. Having forgotten her first line, she seriously did not know what to do. Her unmoving thoughts were suddenly interrupted again.

_Are you ready?_

"What?" she blurted. Jaquot sat there tapping his pen on his nose waiting even more patiently than ever.

"Are you ready Rosette?" he asked.

"Um...yes, sorry."

_Then it is time…_

"Time for what?" she inquired out loud.

"Any day now freak," Derek drawled from out of nowhere.

_Your time has come…_

"What the HELL?" she shouted. Everything was so confusing. Were the people actually talking to her? Or was it just her imagination.

_...now._

Beside her, Chrono gasped, then his body began to shake uncontrollably.

"Chrono! What's wrong?" He was clutching his head and face so she couldn't see his reaction. She reached for him unsteadily but before she could touch him, he swiped her hand away from his face. Instead of his usual deep set blood-red eyes, she found herself to be staring into orbs of glittering amber that contrasted greatly with the curtain of violet hair currently draped over his face at the moment. His eyes dilated into cat-like slits that instantly switched their focus onto her own. She gasped, only to be cut short as well. She could feel the inside of her body swelling up from the very tip of her toes to the top of her head. Her insides felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped into her once normally functioning organs. Then, it came. It seemed as if all the world's pain and agony had been reflected into her body, a human receptor.

As fast as it had come, the sting rushed out of her body along with icy feeling. She panted and leaned on the white board behind her for support. Chrono on the other hand had leaned forward and held onto the desk shuddering. It was only for a split second but she could have sworn that a strained grin had somehow found a place on his glistening face. The class only stared at them astonished at their weird behavior. They couldn't comprehend what had just taken place until…

The pain rushed back into her body with a harder punch than before. Unable to take the second wave, her knees gave out and buckled beneath her. Her mind seemed to be flashing countless images and memories she never recalled as her own. Suddenly, she felt something pry at her brain sharply. Opening her mouth wide, she literally let loose a glass shattering scream. Like an impact of a mini atom bomb, a sonic wave rolled past everyone exploding any fragile objects in the vicinity. Students, including the teacher, hunched over one after another and gripped their head in pain. From above, it looked as if a tiny colony of ants had fallen prey to a can of insect repellent. Rosette buried her face in her hands and unknowingly cried. After a few minutes of groans and whimpers from the rest of the class, she dropped her hands to her lap and choked at the display of wet red 'paint' on her hands. She couldn't understand where it came from. Did she touch the project while it was still wet?

Looking up, she was surprised to see the model was unfazed from any of the impact until a crack appeared down the middle between the two-figured carving. She looked back down at her hands, tears still flowing loosely off the tip of her cheeks. They were dripping the same deep rich crimson color. Coughing, she realized she was swallowing her tears…_blood_ tears. Her face felt queer like something was slithering over her face. In all the confusion and mixed thoughts, she stared at her stained hands and whispered the first thing, or person rather, that came to mind before she blacked out.

"Joshua…"

**-End Chapter 9-**

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**A/N:** Gosh this chapter sounded cheesy. Oh well, didn't even turn out the way I wanted XD. And um, it was a tad bit longer than I thought. Made it to 2000 words again although part of it was notes…(-sweatdrops-) Uh…I expect there will be a bit of confusion and questions from this chapter because I probably don't even know what's going on. I guess it'll make sense later. Omgsh, so I'm going to ramble for a bit. While I was looking at the first page to check for updates, I decided to scroll down to check just how far mine got pushed down. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw just how close my story was to the 2nd page x.x;; So anyways, I haven't been getting my afternoon sleeps lately so I've been nodding my head every night at the computer the past week trying to write this. Bleh, I don't feel like editing so if you guys catch any mistakes or weird grammar, please tell me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter (or not…) and read and review…please? With anything but my deluxe ice cream combo on top?

**P.S. - **I forgot to say...YAY FOR 1000+ views! (even if the same person clicked like 500 times) and another apology for not being elaborate enough!


	10. False Alarm

**A/N:** Oh me oh my. Never thought I'd have such a relaxing vacation away from the story. I've finally thought about it a lot and decided to change MANY aspects of it, especially the plot. Actually, it's not so much the plot since it's almost the same in a way, but more like the base of it (how it's presented). Kind of like instead of hugging a person and telling them you love them, you give them a heart candy and run away blushing. Nice huh? Er, well I tried hard enough and I think I managed a more interesting base for the story because the last one wasn't wholly keeping my interest really. Anyways, I hope you guys don't mind. I tried bending the current info you guys have to fit with this one, and I personally think it fits quite nicely if I must say so myself :3 Sad part is I just made it a whole lot more complicated (for both you and me). I'm trying I'm trying…

**Note:** A few verifications in case you guys don't know (or I forgot to mention. Stupid deja vu) since I'll start to work on other characters now. Everyone is in the 10th grade apart from Joshua (9th) and Aion, Rizelle, and Fiore (11th). Yes, I made Azmaria older than Joshua because I made her much more mature and it seems more suitable in my opinion. Adult and other future characters like Elder are teachers, campus supervisors, etc. I also find that there is a difference between a dean and a principal even if dictionaries say deans are head of school. I believe principals have higher standing even if both cannot exist at the same school. So in my story, a dean holds practically the same position as a vice principal.

**P.S. - **I decided it's too confusing with the chapter numbers so prologue is now considered chapter 1 x.x

**Disclaimer:** I said I don't own it! Leave me alone! (-fends off accusations-)

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**Golden Mirage  
**

**Chapter 10:** False Alarm

_A graceful hand picked up a tall, black, shapely cut piece and moved it in front of a tiny white one standing erect one space from the edge._

Rosette watched her hands as droplets of blood dripped from her eyes.

"Joshua…"

She halfheartedly inhaled some blood before her eyes slipped out of focus and into blackness. A pair of warm arms wrapped around her when even her senses numbed leaving her unconscious. She seriously had to stop fainting like this, she thought. It was getting to be a habit and she had enough appalling tendencies as it was already. Now about the warmth, where was it coming from? She tried to move but found it difficult since there seemed to be something heavy lying on top of her hindering her movements. Groping around, she managed to weakly pull an arm free and reached up for whatever that invisible object was. Lifting her eyelids groggily, she quickly shut them again to save her eyes from the bright burning rays of light. Light cool fingers tapped her cheek then palm following, the whole mysterious hand cupped her face. She could feel the other person sitting on half her body with his or her face breathing right in front of hers.

_What an idiot. Get off my stomach._ A rough snarl rumbled in her throat and in response, she heard strange coughing. No, it wasn't coughing. This person on top of her was _laughing_. _So much for being sick in bed. Wait…bed!_ Rosette's eyes flew open to find Joshua right in her face, grinning broadly and clamping his nose to keep from laughing out loud.

"What the hell?"

"Rise and shine sleepyhead!" Joshua trilled. He hopped off her bed and walked towards the door. "Hurry up and change, we need to get home soon." He turned around and tossed her clothes behind him where it landed softly into Rosette's lap. She looked down and realized she wasn't wearing anything. Gaping at his retreating back, she wrapped the blankets tightly around her and slid back under the covers.

_Why am I in the school infirmary?_ Her head throbbed making her drop the thought entirely. With a grunt, she pushed the sheets off her head and pulled on her tank top. As she slipped into her faded jeans, she felt a lump in the back pocket. Reaching behind into the fabric, she pulled out a sapphire ring. The jewel had the same exact color and brilliance of her eyes and her eyes widened at the sight of it. What in the world was her mother's ring doing in her back pocket for? She could only wonder.

------------------------------

Tapping her foot impatiently, Rosette jabbed at her cell phone again. _Where the hell is he?_ she thought impatiently. That boy always left her behind when she needed him most but pops up when she could care less.

"-If you have a call to make, please hang up and try aga-" the female operator started. Rosette snapped her phone shut and bit her tongue. _Shit._

She walked around campus hoping to find someone she knew. Of all things she would do if in extreme emergencies, walking home was not among those listed. Sighing, she wandered across the quad and stopped in front of a vending machine. Ice cream. That was what she needed right now: rich, cold, and refreshing. Stress apparently liked to thrive on her body like hungry fungus. Slipping in the dollar, she pressed the usual buttons and waited for the routinely humming of the vacuum sucking up her delectable treat. She bent down and reached her hand under the flapping window and caught the cool popsicle right before it hit the bottom of the slot. Turning her back on the machine, she ripped off the plastic, aimed for the trashcan, and missed horribly.

"Naturally graceless hm?"

Rosette twirled around to face the unidentified speaker. A girl slightly taller than her leaned on one leg with her hand to her hip. Her lengthy scarlet hair was pulled up into a high ponytail where it swayed gently in the nonexistent wind. She wore a tight, off shoulder lavender top finished with a slightly fluffed knee length skirt. On her feet, she wore lovely matching light purple heels topped with sparkling laces. She sported several other expensive looking accessories but Rosette wasn't gaping at any of these things. What made her stare was the humongous blue gemmed ring she wore on her left ring finger.

_What? She's married!_ The girl smirked noticing where the sloppy blonde was gazing.

"Hello. I'm Satella, Satella Harvenheit," she held out her hand sophisticatedly, "I don't believe we've met properly before."

Rosette still had half her popsicle down her throat unaware that she was drooling down the stick. Realizing that the girl in front of her had expected her hand in return, she sucked the treat stuck to her teeth and held out the same hand oozing with drool and melted fruit juice. Satella jerked her hand back disgustedly at the absolute commoner in front of her.

"Mmph-" Rosette mumbled mouth still full. "Momesht Mushofuh."

Satella sneered, "Pleasure to meet you…Ms. Mush." Rosette regained her composure and swallowed the popsicle, stick and all.

"Um, why are you here?" she mustered. The red-head looked at her in shock but waved it off simply.

"Don't you know?"

"Know what?" Satella smacked her forehead like she was looking at a foreigner who was slow in the head.

"Prom," she said simply.

"It's today?" Rosette gasped, finally choking on the lingering stick in her throat. By now, Satella had lost her patience with this mush girl.

"NO. I'm a prom nominee. I'm checking the ASB room to make sure I'm chosen, which I obviously should be," she said matter-of-factly.

"…that's nice," Rosette muttered blankly. She had more important matters to deal with right now like finding a ride home and didn't need one of those rich arrogant girls that were always in her face every moment of her school life. Turning back to the trashcan, she spit out the stick and started walking towards the front gate. "Bye," she waved.

"Hold on a minute!" Satella huffed. The preoccupied blonde ignored her and continued to amble away. She clenched her skirt in irritation and after a minute or two, haughtily clattered after her. "Where are you going?" she asked. Heels just weren't meant to catch up to others, especially someone who didn't hear what one had to say. "God…damn you! Stop..walking…ya hear?" she breathed every few steps.

"What do you want?" Rosette ground out, turning around again. The girl stopped in front of her adjusting her dainty shoes and glared at her. "Well?" she asked impatiently, "I'm busy you know." Satella opened her mouth and closed it again. _What was she walking after this girl for?_ She shook her bangs out of her hair and crossed her arms.

"What are YOU here for?" she asked indignantly.

"Nothing," Rosette answered flatly.

"Then why are you here?" This plain girl pissed her off, Satella thought scrunching up her nose. Why did she even care what she was here for?

"I'm not supposed to be. Look, unless you have some way to whisk me home, stop bothering me antennae-head," she snapped back. Her temper was flaring nicely again. A lovely flame grew in the pit of her stomach heating up the lines to her hotheaded brain. Yet again, she spun on her heel and stalked away.

_Reaching over the tiny piece, the hand lifted up a similar piece to the candle-like one and moved it alongside its twin in front._

"WAIT!" the girl cried out, a hint of desperation audibly noticeable. This time, Rosette didn't hear her clanking after her.

"What is it NOW? Did I somehow magically break your heels and you need help?" She closed her eyes and sighed. Whipping around, she choked this time on her spit. On the ground, Satella sat clutching her heel looking pathetically mad at Rosette. Jeez, she was good at jinxing herself AND other people, she cursed.

"Well don't just stand there! Help me!" she honked. Rosette slapped her hand on her cheek and dragged it down her side in exasperation. Of all people she had to run into…why this one?

_A shadow on the other side of the board reached for the tiny white pawn and lifted it gingerly, ready to strike._

"You owe me for this," she demanded.

"I do not. YOU broke my shoes and now you have to repay me!" Satella screeched.

"I'M NOT THE ONE WALKING IN THEM!" Rosette bopped her hard on the skull. "Stupid rich asses," she added silently. Satella pouted grudgingly but allowed Rosette to half carry her to the front of the school.

_Faltering, the shadow smiled and replaced the pawn back on its original square…_

Looking away defeated, Satella mumbled, "What do you need…?" Rosette smiled triumphantly. Finally, she was getting somewhere for once.

"A ride."

**-End Chapter 10-**

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**A/N:** Yea yea another short one. You guys can throw as many tomatoes (and ice cream) at me as you want because I'll just eat them:D I'll just let my author notes take me to 2000 words again somehow…It'll work, I swear. Anyways, the chapters will get a bit boring for now because I have to introduce everyone and that itself is quite a tedious job. Also, I hope you guys eventually like my new story outline (which won't be visible right now) although you can't really compare because you never saw the whole thing of the original. I guess I'll tell you guys eventually (maybe at the end of all this). It's really interesting why this story was such a "golden mirage". You'd be surprised at how much a single word could say despite the simplicity huh? Well, I decided to go with the trend and do dedicated chapters too (and since I finally hit 10 chapters/ 9 + prologues. Maybe I should hold a celebration every 10 _real_ chapters, not every 9th XD) Ok, dedication question: I need ideas on how the current 'met' crew will meet with each other. Example, Azmaria becoming closer with Rosette, Satella meeting one of the other two, etc. You get my point. So, ideas anyone:) Most interesting idea wins! (this is such a typical dedication topic -.-;;)

**P.S. – **I reached 2000 words :3 (-peace sign-)


	11. Mary

**A/N:** Hello again! I'm out of my game phase and back into writing. Since I feel guilty about the horrible quality of my last chapter, I'll try an earlier (lied...) and longer release on this chapter. At the time I'm writing this, only 1 review came in so this one isn't necessarily dedicated to **snekochan** but more as a means of appeasement towards her 'discontent' with my last chapter. And to start off, my notes shall be much shorter than usual. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I need to sleep UNDER my bed covers for once…

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**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 11: **Mary

**(Earlier when the presentation was interrupted…)**

_The white, shimmering marble piece stood menacingly diagonal to the tall crowned obsidian statue. A tiny pale hand sat poised on top of the black statue._

Although he was wheezing badly, Chrono pushed himself to carefully watch Rosette cry. It was no surprise to see her trembling at the sight of her own blood flooding from such an unpredictable location. Her eyes were stained with red as the liquid continued to drip onto her lap, and then formed a tiny puddle on the linoleum tiles. Still watching intently, he waited patiently for the blood to stop, no, _do_ something. He knew what he wanted it to do but like any other normal free-falling tears, the blood just limped to the ground as gravity would have it. Something was obviously wrong from the expression on his face. He hadn't expected the blood to just…fall. It was supposed to _move_. Just then, Rosette swayed a little and finally with her eyes calmly shuttered by her eyelids, she fainted.

Before her body could hit the floor, Chrono scooped her up into his arms only to fall down to his knees in pain himself. Shockwaves traveled through his limbs and he could feel power surging through his veins. Shaken at the reaction, he attempted to lift himself up gingerly. Hadn't he already been released upon marking her? Or was she not the one…?

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he saw that the whole class was practically knocked out cold. Reassured, he bent over Rosette's limp body and with a few quick adjustments, lifted her onto his back and ran out the door. On the way to the infirmary, Chrono rounded a corner and ran smack dab into an object. Stumbling backwards, he rubbed his nose painfully and looked up at the impediment.

"Ow! Hey there Ch-Rosette!" Joshua jumped at the figure lying unconscious on his back and examined her briefly before spotting her blood stained face. "What happened to her? Why's she bleeding!" Grabbing Chrono's shirt, he looked at him pleadingly searching for a plausible answer in the depths of his topaz eyes. Forgetting that his eyes weren't supposed to be golden, he squeezed his eyes shut and looked away hoping Joshua hadn't noticed the change. He turned around and let his sister slide off his back and gently onto the ground before the panic-strickened boy.

"Take her to the nurse's office for now. She should be fine," he said, beginning to walk away.

"Wait…" Joshua started, "What happened?"

"Doesn't matter now. Just go," he answered silently. Wincing at his icy reply, Joshua obeyed, picked up his sister, and rushed off without another word. Behind him, Chrono reopened his eyes and stared at a random gum spot sticking on the cement. He threw his head back at a passing breeze and breathed in a whiff of oncoming summer. "Agh…that was a waste of effort," he grumbled, rumpling his hair. Dropping his arm to his side, he strolled towards the parking lot as the bell rang. Students spilled forth from the buildings, nearly half of them headed towards the science classrooms. Sirens could be heard wailing in the distance and tires screeched to a stop in front of the bus drop-off. Commotion, chaos, turmoil…these non-materialistic things were absolutely thrilling, Chrono thought, smiling to himself.

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The reclining chair creaked, its metal supports scratched against each other. Bathed in darkness, the room was silent other than the occasional musical by some hidden cricket. The night was still as ever and two shadows could be seen: one fused with the looming black that was the chair and the other standing nearby. With a puff of air, a luminous cloud of smoke billowed out from the deformed silhouette.

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't in vain after all." Aion's whispery voice carried through the shield of grey and muffled as it passed through the haze. Chrono arched his back yawning. A series of cricks drummed down his spine upon being bent.

"Whatever you say, but she seems pretty useless to me." He scratched his nose indifferently.

"That's because she is."

"…Then why did you-," Chrono's forehead scrunched into a confused frown. Silence overtook the two as they stared out the window.

"Listen Chrono…there's another girl. It might be a mix-up but I saw her yesterday. I'm sure you can take care of her, am I right?" Aion exhaled again, emphasizing the end.

"Of course," Chrono affirmed, his deadpan eyes gazing forward. "What about the other?"

"Your decision. Anyways, I'm counting on you" Aion strummed the armrest, relaxed. "Her name is Mary. Mary Magdalene."

"As you wish."

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Feminine voices rang down the hallway, giggling feverishly about an inaudible topic. Two girls were strolling along grinning brightly at each other. The taller one sported a short down-spiked chocolate hairstyle streaked in clumps with vivid blonde while the shorter girl had lengthy fair hair that appeared to almost fade into white with a pair of pale aqua blue eyes to match. Apparently, something had struck her funny bone because at that instant, she flippantly laughed tearing up somewhat. Her fun, however, was cut short when her face came knocking into a hard, _warm_ surface. Mind jolting, she fell back on her rear end. This time, her clinging tears were from surprise and a nose throb. Looking up at the impediment that hindered her, she drew in her breathe at the mysterious boy that stood before her. Her watery eyes locked themselves onto his bloodied ones, her mouth still agape.

"Hey! Don't just stand there," demanded the taller, more tomboyish girl, "What kind of man are you? Apologize to her!" Her face distorted into a look of disgust at the rude yet very handsome boy in front of her. His retort? A belittling scowl that matched her own was reflected back at her as well as the petty girl on the ground.

"U-Um, sorry. It's ok Ceci." The frail girl waved her arm apologetically and looked down dejectedly. "It's my fault."

Her friend snorted and glared up at the apathetic male standing before them. "Don't apologize to him. Any proper guy would apologize whether it's his fault or not."

Chrono looked down at her wearily and began to walk away. Before he could fully walk around the two, the prideful girl grabbed his wrist and pulled, or so she thought. Instead, the opposite effect took place and she found herself yanked forward right into the carpet mumbling insolence.

"Are you alright, _miss_?" Chrono extended his hand charmingly to the timid blonde on the ground earlier. Hesitating, she let him have her hand. As their fingers touched, Chrono bristled from an invisible shock but rather than flinching away, he grabbed her hand and lugged her up in one swift pull into his defined chest hidden by a thick jacket. Flushing beet red at having come into contact with the teen, she quickly pushed off as to not cause any misunderstanding. Now that she was a considerable distance away, she quickly bowed and thanked him. Looking back up at his face, she felt another wave of steam rush up her cheeks.

"My pleasure," he smirked then turned around and went on his way.

"Ah…w-wait! I-I'm Maggie and this is my friend Cecilia," she stammered, "What's your n-name?"

He looked back at her, eyes glinting. "Chrono." And yet again, he stalk away, his hair swinging in it's neat low pony tail. Mary watched him leave, speechless and partially tinted on her cheeks.

"Maggie! What was that for? He's so gross…," her friend muttered.

"…Yeah," she replied.

The crowded cafeteria was riotous as usual and so was Rosette's foul temper. She was broke today _again_. She was definitely broke. She groaned, registering the fact that every time she pocketed her money after buying something, the wrinkled green notes always lay forgotten in her previous day's outfit. Opening her wallet in hopes of finding her only means of survival, a gurgle of hunger escaped her lips when she found it expectantly empty. A growl erupted from her abdomen and she clutched it painfully.

"Damn, this sucks," she mumbled. Suddenly, a rush of red whipped past her face and as if her stomach was thinking for her instead, she extended her arm and clamped her hand onto the stream of silk red. A scream issued from the other end of the ruby torrent as the rest of body came crashing at Rosette's feet. "SATELLA-A!" she happily sang, "You brought me food! How sweet of you"

"Stupid wench! It's not for you-erk." Satella swiveled her eyes down at the ground where Rosette was gladly picking up the luxuriously smashed sandwich. "…never mind."

"Wow! Is this filet mignon?" Her eyes sparkled gratefully as she bit into the contaminated meal, leaving Satella to stare at her repulsive behavior. As high class as she was, even she would rather die than be seen having her lunch completely devoured by some manner-less commoner.

"H-Hey blondie!" she whacked Rosette over the head with her purse. "That's filthy even at your class. Stop eating it!" She shook her free of the food and finally managed to pull the starved girl into a respectable position.

"That's a waste though," she pouted, poking at the crispy crust. They stood there staring at the half-eaten sandwich for a minute before a girl called out.

"Hi Satella!" Maggie greeted cheerfully closely followed by Cecilia. "Oh hey Rosette. Didn't know you two knew each other." She smiled warmly at the both of them. Satella gave her a bored looked and swished her hand as her way of replying.

"Yo Rosette," Cecilia waved, grinning.

"Hey you guys," Rosette turned, waving back.

"What are you two up to anyhow?" Maggie asked.

"What does it look like?" Rosette whimpered. Cecilia chuckled realizing that the inevitable had probably happened. She was penniless and tackled the closest person with food and made it drop…as always. Every time she visited her during lunch, the same thing always happened no matter how many times she stopped by to say hello.

"You were penniless and tackled the closest person with food and made it drop, didn't you?" Cecilia repeated her thoughts perfectly like a robot. Rosette hung her head and nodded sheepishly. "So predictable," she gibed.

"Hmph, am not Ceci." She straightened her posture and reported matter-of-factly. "For your information, I was sitting here waiting for a miracle and out of nowhere, this 'pig'," she pointed at Satella, "whipped her nasty hair in my face and I grabbed it as punishment and she just happened to have food! It must've been my lucky day to atta-um I mean find someone who so generously let go of their food."

"Nasty!-?" spluttered Satella, "I'll nasty your life!" Snarling, she lunged at Rosette but was instantly snatched by her hair again.

"Tsk Satella. You shouldn't hurt the person who took her time to dirty her hands to clean after your mess," Cecilia sneered triumphantly. She had never liked the pompous snob of a girl anyway and she wasn't going to start now. It was actually a fact that Rosette had met Satella before, but knowing that clumsy girl, she'd forgotten her past. She even forgot that they all had met one fateful day as children but now, she only knew her as a classmate she'd met this year. The Rosette she knew then had changed.

**(11 years ago…)**

"Hey brat, get off my turf." A pretentious little girl in a puffy, expensive pale yellow dress stepped on a tiny child. She crossed her arms arrogantly, puffed out her cheeks in an authoritative manner, and looked down upon the coffee tinted crown of the other girl, watching her cough on the dirt. Bent on her knees, the small brunette pushed her face off the ground and cried out pitifully but didn't budge. "Tch. Be that way." Running her fingers through her long cranberry colored hair like a mafia leader petting his Persian cat, she snapped her fingers signaling for her burly bodyguard to come.

"Hold it you fat pig!" A shrill voice rang out through the cool air of the park. The redhead froze, fingers rigid in an after-snap position.

"P-Pig!-? How dare y-" Satella snapped indignantly turning to the offender. "Just who do think you are?"

"Ah ha. So you ARE a pig. Piggy piggy," mocked the blonde girl that had just appeared. Leaning forward with a hand on her hip, she thrust a finger against her nose imitating a silly pig. "Oink Oooink"

Still trying to retain her high and mighty appearance, Satella impatiently snapped her fingers again. "Charles! Get rid o-"

"Not so fast chubs!" yelled Rosette as a large man appeared in front of the smirking girl. "Get out of my way you geezer. My business is with…," she ran up and bit his leg forcing him to bend in annoyance, "her!" and with all her might, she pushed her strength into her petite leg and swung upwards in a super high kick, aiming below the man's belt. Grunting, he doubled over in pain and clutched his groin area. Satella stepped back in alarm at the sudden explosive power coming from so little a girl.

"You m-monster!" she squeaked, falling back on her tush.

"Monster? How rude," said Rosette, "At least I'm not a powerless-puff girl!" The fallen girl squinted her eyes and began to tear up. Unable to take the insults anymore, she scrambled to her feet.

"I'll get you for this blondie!" she cried, running across the lawn.

"Hehe," Rosette laughed triumphantly. Turning to the soiled girl, she held out her hand. "Hi there, what's your name?"

She looked up at Rosette with her mouth hanging open in despair. Under her grimy chunks of hair was a pair of bright hazel eyes. Rosette clicked her tongue impatiently and grinned cheekily while still holding out a determined hand.

**(End of flashback)**

"Ceci, yoo hoo." Rosette waved her hand in front of her face. "You sure space out a lot. Daydreaming about a boyfriend again?"

Rolling her eyes, Cecilia pushed her arm out of her face.

"You're one to talk. Whatever happened to you?" she teased back. Like a word document gone blank, it seemed like it was Rosette's turn to stick her head in the clouds as her face paled.

"What do you mean what happened?" she asked. She wasn't even thinking about the same subject but it didn't matter soon enough because Maggie broke in.

"I have to go to a club meeting now. Sorry, I'll see you guys later," she piped up.

"Oh I almost forgot about that. Bye Rosette," said Ceci.

"What club is it Mary?" Rosette inquired. Satella's eyebrows rose skeptically at the mention of the name.

"Rosette…how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" whined the shorter girl. "It's so overused that this school is practically a clone machine!" Rosette merely shook her head sadly as if what the girl said was ludicrous.

"Mary, Mary, Mary." Maggie puffed out her cheeks at hearing her birth name thrice fold. "You just don't get it do you?" Rosette searched her eyes for a sign of a 'yes' or 'no' before she continued. "It's _fun_. I mean, since there's so many Mary's out there, imagine what would happened if you screamed that name when there's a school gathering or something. Just think of the possibilities!" Her face beamed with delight.

"I don't think I want to." Insane as she was, Rosette still had an exceptionally human soul for she wasn't the only one who thought the same. Maggie wasn't well known just because the school was named after her grandfather or that she had the same name as nearly the whole population of girls (**a/n:** chill, I'm exaggerating -.-).

A bustling group of students rushed towards them, or more directly, towards Maggie. "Mary, wait up! Please reconsider your decision about the dance!" they cried. She jumped in surprise and a noise gurgled deep in her throat.

Laughing nervously, she turned back to the two girls. "L-Looks like its time for me to go. I'm a tad bit busy," she spoke quickly, eyes darting to the oncoming mob. Then, she was gone in a snap. Rosette sweat dropped and looked back at Ceci expecting an answer.

"Well, I'll see y-CRAP Bye!" and then she dashed away too.

"CECILIA! Where's Mary?" The crowd pounded past Rosette like a heard of wild animals. She reached out in their direction but stopped shortly.

"Um…" That was strange, she thought. Oblivious to most of her surroundings, she had no idea that the pair she had known for awhile and just been speaking to was two of the most popular people in school. Maggie was noted as unrealistically beautiful and even if her lithe figure wasn't as busty or defined as Satella's, she had what was closest to the perfect body anyone had ever seen. Her complexion was perfect in their eyes and her pale hair and eyes was like the cherry on top of the melting sight of the most luxurious sundae ever. In contrast to her stunning appearance, Cecilia, who was considered her closest friend, provided for a balancing image. Her darker image contradicted that of Maggie's due to her shadowy hair and she had a deliciously tan body to boot. Also coupling with her friend's sky blue eyes was her own dark but shining emerald, partial-hazel ones.

"That was an utter waste of my time," Satella gabbed, running her fingers through the tangled strands in her hair. Then shaking her bangs free from her face, she proceeded to walk away. "Well I'm off to class. Hope to never see you again, you hooligan," she waved.

"Nyah!" Rosette stuck her tongue out at Satella's retreating back. "What a stuck-up bitch," she muttered.

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Prom, a small matter to Rosette unlike the rest of the female population, was nearing closer than anyone expected. One week from the dance, numerous students were still running amass nervously with huge bouquets of roses. Many of them were flushed red with embarrassment, flattery, reject, and in Rosette's case, anger. Chrono was pissing her off yet again. The idiot had forgotten the deal he made with her already. Was it so hard to remember their compromises or was he making excuses and trying to hide from his crazed fans at this hectic time of year. Valentines was pretty horrible enough for good-looking boys, but prom was a time for deep resentment of the girl who stole the dream guy's heart and blackmail. Although in most cases, it was the latter.

Damn idiot, he was going to pay dearly for making her wait. Gritting her teeth anxiously, she began to pace in the empty hallway in front of the library. What would she do without him now? Actually, she though angrily, how would she even do WITH him. All he ever did was cause her trouble and agony when she decided to rely on him for something. Then again, maybe it was the other way around and he…found her to be annoying. She bit her tongue uneasily and walked over to the counter. She hoisted herself up and adjusted her pants. Maybe she should wait a little bit longer. They'd only known each other for about a month and she really hated his guts. But in fact, the reason she asked him for the favor of coming was so she could privately ask him out to dinner on prom night since she hated dances, didn't want to stay home on a celebrated night, had to be a junior or senior (or get asked by one), and well…also because he's the closest she ever got to any guy. It'd be plain stupid to ask her brother on this occasion. Then again, he was also a sophomore. Oh well, there goes all the lower grade girls' hopes, she snickered.

There was also something else nagging at her mind that she wanted to ask him. It was something big for sure since arriving to her chemistry class this Monday, she'd found out class was cancelled until the classroom was repaired. The school newspaper had reported about a major earthquake occurring in the area but she had absolutely no memory of it, and if she did, it was too vague. She didn't even remember if she was present that day. She hated it. Being unable to remember anything major in her past as well as her current year gave her a splitting headache if she tried. Like at this moment, she could feel a growing migraine so she shifted her thoughts onto something new. Chrono. Oh yea, she was going to ask Chrono out. Smiling happily, she hopped off the countertop when a few girls hurried past her. One of them stopped and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, c'mon! What are you standing there for?" she panted. Rosette was bewildered.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Just hurry!" she ran again, dragging Rosette this time. Looking back briefly, she explained. "I heard Chrono…THE Chrono is asking someone to prom!"

Rosette froze. What? He was going to…no, that was impossible. That was probably another Chrono. She meant, there were probably billions of other Chronos. _There's only one_. No! There had to be another…there had to be…

"What's wrong with you?" the girl tugged, "I don't want to miss this you know."

Rosette found herself pulled right to the edge of a crowd. She didn't want to look but she forced herself to stand on her toes for a better view. And then she saw it. Unruly purple hair. That was proof enough that there was no other. Just one Chrono, and he was asking someone else out. Against her own will, she found herself pushing through the crowd to the very center of the commotion. She could hear girls and guys cheering, but the majority of the girls were crying, and surprisingly, the booing was coming from the male side as well. She didn't understand their actions until she saw who Chrono was facing intently with an armful of roses. Gasping, she couldn't help but stare. Wanting to have asked Chrono herself, she realized that even if he was only a sophomore, the girl he was asking definitely had the influence to admit the both of them. She turned away and slipped out of the circle easily and walked away.

Kneeling, Chrono made his proposal. "Will you go to prom with me, Mary?"

Maggie smiled excitedly, blushing madly. "Yes," she answered breathlessly.

The crowd roared with mixed feelings but Rosette heard none of this. She didn't need to hear the answer from the expression on her classmate's face. Exiting the building, she released the ribbons tying up her pigtails and let an ending spring's wind rustle up her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding back anything that dared to fall. It was too late…

Leaning against the side of the building and unseen by the despairing blonde, a tall boy in a white coat stood in the shadows. He smirked. He had one hand in his pocket, and from behind his back, he brought out a bouquet of exquisite roses with his other hand. These had an obviously healthier glow and were more professionally arranged than the ones Chrono held. He pushed himself off the wall and silently walked up behind the tearing girl. Taking a confident breathe, he tapped her shoulder.

**-End Chapter 11-**

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**A/N:** Finally, I'm done. (-strains to keep notes short-) ;-; I hope this chapter proved much more fun than the past few and sorry for the slow updates. I'm currently suffering yet another test period and I have some personal problems running loose. Anyways, it was bound to happen. Chrono has dropped Rosette for another girl! Oh no, what will happen now? Stay tuned xD.

**P.S. – **I hope you're happy now sneko (-cries-) Got to…stop typing…more notes…


	12. Separate Paths

**A/N:** Ok warning to those who hate long notes (-cough sneko-). Happens when I don't write for awhile. So I apologize for not updating sooner. I had some crazy err…issues and some other lame excuses. Also, I'm secretly brainstormed on a new story (which I really shouldn't because I should be finishing this one first!) and if you want to see a wee little bit of it, you can check out the summary in my profile. I'm still wondering about the finer details with the name but I think I have it figured out. Agh, (-whacks herself-) maybe I should get public opinion on whether to continue this or give the other story an initiative.

Well, I thought that the case was that my story got boring until I got a lovely reviews from new faces! Thank you so much my dears. You guys totally made my day. Today in school, I was going through my e-mail to get a PowerPoint attachment for my presentation and I saw that I got new reviews. I nearly shoved my face into the screen but I remembered my teacher was like right next to me so I had to stay composed and ignore it until I got home T.T Again, thank you for the motivation! I'm still really lacking in the inspiration at the moment but I'm trying!

Now, onto the story. But before that, a word of **warning**. When I first wrote this, I knew how the ending was going to be but then I changed it around…and around again. So now, the ending is set in stone and stuff. What's the warning? If you like very mushy lovey dovey stuff, this fic isn't for you. It's more plot-filled and… (I'll admit it) boring. HOWEVER, I'll guarantee my next previewing fic will be very "posh", as I would like to call it.

OK, without further ado, I present to you…the real story!

**Disclaimer:** Oops, got to get this over with first. No go for me huh? That's too bad.

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**Golden Mirage**

**Chapter 12: **Separate Paths

Rosette rubbed her eyes. This was impossible. Ms. No-nonsense-Christopher didn't think about pathetic little foreigners nor did it matter to her what anyone's affairs were. She brightened up and was about to turn back to congratulate Chrono on Mary's reply but a tap on the shoulder greeted her first.

"Hello there." Aion's smooth voice carried through the crisp morning air. Rosette cocked her head up at the handsome boy she'd seen with her brother the other week.

"Oh! Hey…," She pulled her face into a wry smile, frowning slightly at his sudden appearance. "Um, I don't seem to remember your name." She scratched her head. Really, she needed a machine to record all the information she took in otherwise she'd start calling Joshua her bf and Azmaria her mother soon enough.

"Aion. It's a pleasure to meet you this morning, _Rosette_." He paused as if expecting an answer. "Actually, I was wondering if…you would do me a grand favor and go to prom with me?"

Astonished, Rosette stepped back and he smiled smugly at her short intake of air. No one, and she meant NO ONE, had ever asked her out formally before. With her rugged nature, it was no surprise but this was still heart stopping for her.

"I would be absolutely thrilled if you did of course." He moved his face closer still giving her his wide smile. Wow…he sent chills down her spine. She stared nervously up at his glimmering amethyst eyes and felt herself gulp from the intense, expectant gaze.

As discreetly as possible, Aion placed the flowers into her hands. Feeling the cool wrapper against her bare forearms, she nodded without realizing she did so, but she did eventually and became well aware that she wholly accepted his invitation. His lips curved up and he bent down and kissed her hand. At the touch of his cold lips on her hand, she flushed and looked away instead at the flowers he presented to her. They really were nice, she thought. Not the average crimson but more like it was soaked in pure fresh blood. Though that would be a bad thing, the color was truly mesmerizing. She hadn't taken in that Aion was long done blessing her hand but either way, he laughed lightly at the primary focus of her attention.

"I hope you like it."

"It's really…nice," she whispered, still outlining the swirls of red with her eyes.

"I'll talk to you later then. Have a nice day Rosette."

"Mm…you too."

Rosette wrapped her arms cautiously around the plastic as to not crush the flowers together and lightly snuffed her face into the sea of petals. It had curious smell, something she would be sure to remember. She had to admit, that was extremely random and out of the blue. Why did he even ask her of all people? Did he do it out of pity or was he just another feeble man who couldn't get a date from someone else. With looks like that, it shouldn't have been hard at all. In fact, he wouldn't even need to ask because girls would flock anyways. She looked down at the flowers again hoping for an answer or some hint but to her disappointment, there was none.

Around the corner of a far building, a short pale girl gasped, clamping her hand over her mouth. Turning on her tail, the pale fabric of her dress twisted midair as she ran off with her own voice squeaking inside her head. She couldn't believe it! It was way too early. She had to tell him as soon as possible.

On the other side of the vast campus, Cecilia situated herself stiffly onto a bench. She studied her fingers speculatively for a moment before she ticked them off.

"Rumor has it that…" and she mumbled the rest of her words. "Rumor also has it that…" She folded down another finger. She continued talking to herself when Maggie bounded up and stuck her face right in front of her friend's. Her face was glowing cheerfully and she panted as if her feet had just done her a mile. Smushing Cecilia's cheeks together with more force than she meant to exert, she blurted the day's confession excitedly.

"You won't believe it Ceci!"

"Oof curse I wun't," she mumbled between her cheeks before prying Maggie's shaking hands off her. "You haven't even told me what I should believe."

"I'm getting to that!"

"Say it already…" Ceci demanded impatiently.

"Ok ok." Maggie sighed deeply. "He's asked me out."

"He who?"

"You know…HIM. The one and only. The object of the largest fan club's affection. The-"

"WHAT? HE asked you out?"

"W-Well, it was just for prom but he did say he liked me." The blonde girl twiddled her thumbs eagerly.

"No way…" Ceci whistled.

"Yes way! Oh my gosh he's such a sweetie. I don't know if I'm even worthy." Maggie was hysterical by now and nearly broke out into tears of bliss. Cecilia reached up and patted her to calm the frenzied girl.

Cecilia shook her head. She never thought some boy could do this to Maggie despite her usual calm and collected self. He must've been really suave or handsome to even faze Maggie's intuitive nature one bit. She shrugged and stood up, giving Maggie a friendly squeeze on the shoulder before waving her off. She had to go to the office to get some paperwork done or else the damned aides were going to bother her next time around. If only she wasn't so busy all the time. Being ASB vice president as well as president in a few other clubs was really getting to her. People were just so darn expectant and unreliable all the time.

Along the way, she passed by the senior quad tables where, under the shade of a tree, sat an unruffled girl in a European dress. Her short hair didn't have much to hide making it apparent that she'd been watching the gruff girl on her way to the office. Her eyes followed her every movement until Cecilia was out of the comfort range of her sight when she closed her eyes and smiled approvingly.

"Perfect."

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She just couldn't help it. Every time her eyes wandered back to the roses in her hand, she found that a scowl had crawled onto her face somehow. Bringing the bouquet close to her face, she stared at it apprehensively. This was totally unbelievable. She, THE boy-hating Rosette had accepted a date and still had the nerve to hold onto the cursed flowers. How could she even say this now when she was practically snuggling these things a few minutes ago? Groaning, she walked through the hallway towards the open door leading to the side of the quad.

Behind her, Chrono crossed her path in a different direction. He looked to the left then to the right but was too late on spotting Rosette leaving the building and continued down the perpendicular hall. Crap, he thought, this wasn't good. He'd totally forgotten to meet up with her because of that little distraction earlier. How annoying. Why was it that when people didn't need something, it was always there, but when they went looking for it, it was gone? He bit his lip, imagining Rosette when she unleashed her wrath on her little brother and what she would do to him when she found him. It wasn't going to be pretty for sure. Then he heard a girl mumbling just around the corner at the end of the hall in front of him. It sounded an awful lot like Rosette.

"What the hell was he thinking…?" Rosette growled. Great, now she was randomly walking around school and somehow ended up walking through the other entrance. Just how bird-brained could she get?

That was definitely her, thought Chrono. He picked up his pace and started to run, unaware that Rosette was closer than he anticipated. Rather than running up to her, he ended up colliding with the muddled blonde. In unison, they both clutched their heads in pain.

"Ugh, watch where you're go-oh…," her face turned stony as she pointed out the obvious, "it's you." She felt her heart slip into the depths of her stomach where it disintegrated into a clump of negative energy. He was the last person she wanted to see right now and the fact that he had the guts to bump into her when he was too 'busy' with his personal life to keep a promise.

"…"

_It's you_, she says. Chrono gulped. The tone she said those words with pierced his chest because unlike her, he had never really experienced rejection before. Rejection…_rejection_…it rang through his head. Someone had actually…rejected him. Even if it wasn't stated directly, he wasn't so stupid as to not be able tell that it was clearly implied.

"I better get to class then."

Rosette fixed her bangs, combing through them with her fingers. She flipped them off to the side and adjusted her tank top. Chrono watched as she proceeded to bend down and reach for the flowers she'd drop earlier. Wait…flowers? When did she-?

"You got asked?" he blurted out.

She looked up surprised. Even though it was a considerably innocent question, she'd expected he hadn't noticed what with another girl on his mind. She stared straight into his eyes or had to tilt her head slightly to do so. Realizing he'd gained a few centimeters in height, she shook her head back on track.

"Yea, a really nice guy," she answered, forgetting that Chrono was closely associated with this 'really nice guy.'

"I…see."

"...yup."

They stared at the ground nervously as there was nothing more to say. Suddenly, the two minute bell rang and crowds of students who were milling around outside minutes before were now filing into the building. Further down the hall, a squeak could be heard among the swarming students.

"C-C-Chrono!" cried Azmaria, "Rosette was just-eek!"

She squealed again as two pushy students sandwiched her nearly dragging her back to the starting point.

"Arg, out of my way!" she snarled and stomped on one of the boys' foot. She pushed her way past him muttering, "May God have mercy on you," as he tripped, howling in pain. Squeezing through the crowd, she managed to wriggle her way over to the duo squashed against the wall.

"Chrono, Rosette was just asked to prom!" Azmaria whined, oblivious of her presence. "You should've asked her sooner!"

He only smiled calmly and shook his head.

"I've already asked someone myself. Besides, I'm sure she'd rather go with that other person…right Rosette?"

Buried in her pondering thoughts again, both Azmaria and Rosette jumped

"No." She stopped briefly. "I mean yes! Yes I would."

_I would?_ Flustered, she looked down at her feet, finding that her shoelaces were much more interesting than the conversation itself.

"See? She doesn't care. Besides, it IS my business who I should and shouldn't ask," he said. "Well, looks like Rosette's going to be late again if she doesn't go to class now."

Smiling sweetly, Rosette nodded at the little girl from behind Chrono.

"See you in fifth period, Rosette."

"Same to you."

They turned around and strode away in opposite directions, leaving Azmaria gaping at their backs.

**-End Chapter 12-**

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**A/N:** Ok I know it's a pretty crappy end to a chapter but I need to stop procrastinating or at least try. Ah, please don't kill me about Aion. It's a horrible thing for me to do to all the CxR fans and personally, I dont think a AxR even exists including myself so don't misunderstand ..;; Anyways, by the time I finished this chapter, I've still been doing some serious brainstorming on what I should do. Even though I'm not like…totally overjoyed, my (not so) sweet 16 is coming up next Thursday, 11-9. I want to give you guys some form of a treat (or something better than the shit I normally spout) so please give me your opinions on the progress of my story(s). Options I'm thinking of right now is: 1) a much longer chapter next time or 2) a double chapter or 3) a special chapter/G-mo (yes I renamed it again) added or 4) the first chapter to my new story or 5) the first chapter to my new story AND a chapter for GM. The list goes on and on but you guys get the gist of what I mean. If there's anything you want, please request it and I'll try but please say so before Monday/Tuesday because I need enough time to start :3 Love to all the readers! (-heart-)


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